UNIT.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY.  LOS  ANCF.1.E9 


SHADOW 


ON    HI   SE:A 


A  TALE 
OF   STRANGE    HAPPENINGS 


MAX  PE:MBE:RTON 


ARTHUR   WESTBROOK 
COMPANY 

CLEVELAND,     OHIO,     U.     S.     A. 


Copyright  1907  by  Biinbridge  Cayll. 


INDEX 


CHAPTER 


PAGE 


I  The  Perfect  Fool  Asks  a  Favor 1 

II  I  Meet  Captain  Black  11 

III  "Four-Eyes"  Delivers  a  Message   26 

IV  A  Strange  Sight  on  the  Sea 35 

V  The  Writing  of  Martin  Hall 48 

VI  I  Engage  a  Second  Mate 75 

VII  The  Beginning  of  the  Great  Pursuit 82 

VIII  I  Dream  of  Paolo 92 

IX  I  Fall  in  with  the  Nameless  Ship 99 

X  The  Spread  of  the  Terror 113 

XI  The  Ship  in  the  Black  Cloak 123 

XII  The  Drinking  Hole  in  the  Bowery 134 

XIII  Astern  of  the  "Labrador" 146 

XIV  A  Cabin  in  Scarlet 157 

XV  The  Prison  of   Steel 161 

XVI  Northward   Ho!    166 

XVII  One  Shall  Live 176 

XVIII  The  Den  of  Death 184 

XIX  The  Murders  in  the  Cove 193 

XX  I  Quit  Ice-Haven 210 

XXI  To  the  Land  of  Man 219 

XXII  The  Robbery  of  the  "Bellonic" 228 

XXIII  I  Go  to  London 238 

XXIV  The  Shadow  on  the  Sea 246 

XXV  The  Dumb  Man  Speaks 262 

XXVI  A  Page  in  Black's  Life 274 

XXVII  I  Fall  to  Wondering 294 


2132246 


THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PERFECT  FOOL  ASKS  A  FAVOUR. 

"EN  voiture!  en  voiture!" 

If  it  has  not  been  your  privilege  to  hear  a  French  guard 
utter  these  words,  you  have  lost  a  lesson  in  the  dignity  of 
elocution  which  nothing  can  replace.  "En  voiture,  en 
voiture;  five  minutes  for  Paris."  At  the  well-delivered 
warning,  the  Englishman  in  the  adjoining  buffet  raises  on 
high  the  frothing  tankard,  and  vaunts  before  the  world  his 
capacity  for  deep  draughts  and  long;  the  fair  American 
spills  her  coffee  and  looks  an  exclamation ;  the  Bishop 
pays  for  his  daughter's  tea,  drops  the  change  in  the  one 
chink  which  the  buffet  boards  disclose,  and  thinks  one; 
the  travelled  person,  disdaining  haste,  smiles  on  all  with  a 
pitying  leer;  the  foolish  man,  who  has  forgotten  some- 
thing, makes  public  his  conviction  that  he  will  lose  his 
train.  The  adamantine  official  alone  is  at  his  ease,  and, 
as  the  minutes  go,  the  knell  of  the  train-loser  sounds  the 
deeper,  the  horrid  jargon  is  yet  more  irritating. 

I  thought  all  these  things,  and  more,  as  I  waited  for  the 
Perfect  Fool  at  the  door  of  my  carriage  in  the  harbour 
station  at  Calais.  He  was  truly  an  impossible  man,  that 


2  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

small-eyed,  short-haired,  stooping  mystery  I  had  met  at 
Cowes  a  month  before,  and  formed  so  strange  a  friendship 
with.  To-day  he  would  do  this,  to-morrow  he  would  not ; 
to-day  he  had  a  theory  that  the  world  was  egg-shaped,  to- 
morrow he  believed  it  to  be  round ;  in  one  moment  he  was 
hot  upon  a  journey  to  St.  Petersburg,  in  the  next  he  felt 
that  the  Pacific  islands  offered  a  better  opportunity.  If  he 
had  a  second  coat,  no  man  had  ever  seen  it;  if  he  had  a 
purpose  in  life,  no  man  I  hold,  had  ever  known  it.  And 
yet  there  was  a  fascination  about  him  you  could  not  resist ; 
in  his  visible,  palpitating,  stultifying  folly  there  was  some- 
thing so  amazing  that  you  drew  to  the  man  as  to  that  un- 
known something  which  the  world  had  not  yet  given  to 
you,  as  a  treasure  to  be  worn  daily  in  the  privacy  of  your 
own  enjoyment.  I  had,  as  I  have  said,  picked  the  Perfect 
Fool  up  at  Cowes,  whither  I  had  taken  my  yacht,  Celsis, 
for  the  Regatta  Week ;  and  he  had  clung  to  me  ever  since 
with  a  dogged  obstinacy  that  was  a  triumph.  He  had 
taken  of  my  bread  and  eaten  of  my  salt  unasked;  he  was 
not  a  man  such  as  the  men  I  knew — he  was  interested  in 
nothing,  not  even  in  himself — and  yet  I  tolerated  him. 
And  in  return  for  this  toleration  he  was  about  to  make  me 
lose  a  train  for  Paris. 

"WILL  YOU  COME  ON  ?"  I  roared  for  the  tenth  time,  as 
the  cracked  bell  jangled  and  the  guards  hoisted  the  last 
stout  person  into  the  only  carriage  where  there  was  not  a 
seat  for  her.  "Don't  you  see  we  shall  be  left  behind? 
Hurry  up!  Hang  your  parcels!  Now  then — for  the  last 
time,  Hall,  Hill,  Hull,  whatever  your  confounded  name 
is,  are  you  coming?" 

Many  guards  gave  a  hand  to  the  hoist,  and  the  Perfect 
Fool  fell  upon  his  hat-box,  which  was  all  the  personal 


RODERICK  WAKES.  3 

property  he  seemed  to  possess.  He  apologised  to  Mary, 
who  sat  in  the  far  corner,  with  more  grace  than  I  had 
looked  for  from  him,  woke  Roderick,  who  was  in  his  fifth 
sleep  since  luncheon,  and  then  gathered  the  remnants  of 
himself  into  a  coherent  whole. 

"Did  anyone  use  my  name?"  he  asked  gravely,  and 
as  one  offended.  "I  thought  I  heard  someone  call  me 
Hull?" 

"Exactly;  I  think  I  called  you  every  name  in  the 
Directory,  but  I'm  glad  you  answer  to  one  of  them." 

"Yes,  and  I  tell  you  what,"  said  Roderick,  "I  wish 
you  wouldn't  come  into  a  railway  carriage  on  your  hands 
and  knees,  waking  a  fellow  up  every  time  he  tries  to  get  a 
minute  to  himself;  I  don't  speak  for  myself,  but  for  my 
sister." 

The  Perfect  Fool  made  a  profound  bow  to  Mary,  who 
looked  very  pretty  in  her  dainty  yachting  dress — she  was 
only  sixteen,  I  had  known  her  all  her  life — and  he  said, 
"I  cannot  make  your  sister  an  apology  worthy  of  her." 

"If  that  isn't  a  shame,  Mr.  Hull,"  replied  the  blushing 
girl.  "I  never  go  to  sleep  in  railway  carriages." 

"No,  of  course  you  don't,"  said  Roderick,  as  he  made 
himself  comfortable  for  another  nap,  "but  you  may  go  to 
sleep  in  a  railway  carriage;"  then  with  a  grunt,  "Wake 
me  up  at  Amiens,  old  man,"  he  sank  to  slumber. 

The  train  moved  slowly  over  the  sandy  marsh  which 
lies  between  Calais  and  Boulogne,  and  the  vapid  talk  of 
the  railway  carriage  held  us  to  Amiens,  and  after.  Dur- 
ing the  second  half  of  the  long  journey  Roderick  was 
asleep,  and  Mary's  pretty  head  had  fallen  against  the 
cushion  as  the  swing  of  the  carriage  gave  the  direct  nega- 
tive to  her  words  at  Calais  station.  At  last,  even  the 


4  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEJ. 

maker  of  commonplaces  was  silent;  and,  as  I  reclined  at 
greater  length  on  the  cushions  of  the  stuffy  compartment, 
I  thought  how  strange  a  company  \ve  were  then  beinc 
carried  over  the  dull,  drear  pasture-land  of  France,  to  the 
lights,  the  music,  and  the  life  of  the  great  capital.  Of 
the  man  Martin  Hall — I  remembered  his  true  name  in 
the  moments  of  repose — I  knew  nothing  beyond  that 
which  I  have  told  you ;  but  of  my  friends  Roderick  and 
Mary,  accompanying  me  on  this  wild-away  journey,  I 
knew  all  that  was  to  be  known.  Roderick  and  I  had  been 
at  Caius  College,  Cambridge,  together,  friends  drawn 
the  closer  in  affection  because  our  conditions  in  kith  and 
kin,  in  possession  and  in  purpose,  in  ambition  and  in  idle- 
ness, wrere  so  very  like.  Roderick  was  an  orphan  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  young,  rich,  desiring  to  know  life  before 
he  measured  strength  with  her,  caring  for  no  man,  not 
vital  enough  to  realise  danger,  an  Englishman  in  tenacity 
of  will,  a  good  fellow,  a  gentleman.  His  sister  was  his 
only  care.  He  gave  to  her  the  strength  of  an  undivided 
love,  and  just  as,  in  the  shallowness  of  much  of  his  life, 
there  was  matter  for  blame,  so  in  this  increasing  affection 
and  thought  for  the  one  very  dear  to  him  was  there  the 
strength  of  a  strong  manhood  and  a  noble  work. 

For  myself,  I  was  twenty-five  when  the  strange  things 
of  which  I  am  about  to  write  happened  to  me.  Like 
Roderick,  I  was  an  orphan.  My  father  had  left  me  £50,- 
ooo,  which  I  drew  upon  when  I  was  of  age;  but,  shame 
that  I  should  write  it,  I  had  spent  more  than  £40,000  in 
four  years,  and  my  schooner,  the  Celsis,  with  some  few 
thousand  pounds,  alone  remained  to  me.  Of  what  was  my 
future  to  be,  I  knew  not.  In  the  senseless  purpose  of  my 
life,  I  said  only,  "It  will  come,  the  tide  in  my  affairs 


A  JOURNEY  FRAUGHT  WITH  FOLLY.   5 

which  taken  at  the  flood  should  lead  on  to  fortune."  And 
in  this  supreme  folly  I  lived  the  days,  now  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, now  cruising  round  the  coast  of  England,  now 
flying  of  a  sudden  to  Paris  with  one  they  might  have  called 
a  vulgarian,  but  one  I  chose  to  know.  A  journey  fraught 
with  folly,  the  child  of  folly,  to  end  in  folly,  so  might  it 
have  been  said ;  but  who  can  foretell  the  supreme  moments 
of  our  lives,  when  unknowingly  we  stand  on  the  threshold 
of  action  ?  And  who  should  expect  me  to  foresee  that  the 
man  who  was  to  touch  the  spring  of  my  life's  action  sat 
before  me — mocked  of  me,  dubbed  the  Perfect  Fool — over 
whose  dead  body  I  was  to  tread  the  paths  of  danger  and 
the  intricate  ways  of  strange  adventure? 

But  I  would  not  weary  you  with  more  of  these  facts 
than  are  absolutely  necessary  for  the  understanding  of  this 
story,  surpassing  strange,  which  I  judge  it  to  be  as  much 
my  duty  as  my  privilege  to  write.  Let  us  go  back  to  the 
Gare  du  Nord,  and  the  compartment  wherein  Mary  and 
Roderick  slept,  while  the  Perfect  Fool  and  I  faced  each 
other,  surfeited  with  meteorological  observations,  sick  to 
weariness  with  reflections  upon  the  probability  of  being 
late  or  arriving  before  time.  I  would  well  have  been 
silent  and  dozed  as  the  others  were  doing;  of  a  truth,  I 
had  done  so  had  it  not  become  very  evident  that  the  man 
who  had  begun  to  bore  me  wished  at  last  to  say  some- 
thing, relating  neither  to  the  weather  nor  to  the  speed  of 
our  train.  His  restless  manner,  the  fidgeting  of  his  hands 
with  certain  papers  which  he  had  taken  from  his  great- 
coat pocket,  the  shifting  of  the  small  grey  eyes,  marked 
that  within  him  which  suffered  no  show  except  in  privacy  j 
and  I  waited  for  him,  making  pretence  of  interest  in  the 
great  plain  of  hedgeles?  pasture-land  which  bordered  ths 


6  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA 

track  on  each  side.  At  last  he  spoke,  and,  speaking, 
seemed  to  be  the  Perfect  Fool  no  longer. 

"They're  both  asleep,  aren't  they?"  he  asked  suddenly, 
as  he  put  his  hand,  which  seemed  to  tremble,  upon  my 
arm,  and  pointed  to  the  sleepers.  "Would  you  mind 
making  sure — quite  sure — before  I  speak? — that  is,  if  you 
will  let  me,  for  I  have  a  favour  to  ask." 

To  see  the  man  grave  and  evidently  concerned  was  to 
me  so  unusual  that  for  the  moment  I  looked  at  him  rather 
than  at  Roderick  or  Mary,  and  waited  to  know  if  the 
gravity  were  not  of  his  humour  and  not  of  any  deeper 
import.  A  single  glance  at  him  convinced  me  for  the 
second  time  that  I  did  him  wrong.  He  was  looking  at  me 
with  a  fitful  pleading  look  unlike  anything  he  had  shown 
previously.  In  answer  to  his  request  I  assured  him  at 
once  that  he  might  speak  his  mind ;  that,  even  if  Roderick 
should  overhear  us,  I  would  pledge  my  word  for  his 
good  faith.  Then  only  did  he  unbosom  himself  and  tell 
me  freely  what  he  had  to  say. 

"I  wanted  to  speak  to  you  some  days  ago,"  he  said 
earnestly  and  quickly,  as  his  hands  continued  to  play  with 
the  paper,  "but  we  have  been  so  much  occupied  that  I 
have  never  found  the  occasion.  It  must  seem  curious  in 
your  eyes  that  I,  who  am  quite  a  stranger  to  you,  should 
have  been  in  your  company  for  some  weeks,  and  should 
not  have  told  you  more  than  my  name.  As  the  thing 
stands,  you  have  been  kind  enough  to  make  no  inquiries; 
if  I  am  an  impostor,  you  do  not  care  to  know  it ;  if  I  am  a 
rascal  hunted  by  the  law,  you  have  not  been  willing  to  help 
the  law;  you  do  not  know  if  I  have  money  or  no  money, 
a  home  or  no  home,  people  or  no  people,  yet  you  have 
made  me — shall  I  say,  a  friend?" 


THE  JESTER'S  CLOAK  FALLS.  7 

He  asked  the  question  with  such  a  gentle  inflexion  of 
the  voice  that  I  felt  a  softer  chord  was  touched,  and  in 
response  I  shook  hands  with  him.  After  that  he  con- 
tinued to  speak. 

"I  am  very  grateful  for  all  your  trust,  believe  me,  for 
I  am  a  man  that  has  known  few  friends  in  life,  and  I 
have  not  cared  to  go  out  of  my  way  to  seek  them.  You 
have  given  me  your  friendship  unasked,  and  it  is  the  more 
prized.  What  I  wanted  to  gay  is  this,  if  I  should  die 
before  three  days  have  passed,  will  you  open  this  packet  of 
papers  I  have  prepared  and  sealed  for  you,  and  carry  out 
what  is  written  there  as  well  as  you  are  able?  It  is  no 
idle  request,  I  assure  you;  it  is  one  that  will  put  you  in 
the  place  where  I  now  stand,  with  opportunities  greater 
than  I  dare  to  think  of.  As  for  the  dangers,  they  are 
big  enough,  but  you  are  the  man  to  overcome  them  as  I 
hope  to  overcome  them— if  I  live!" 

The  sun  fell  over  the  lifeless  scene  without  as  he  ceased 
to  speak.  I  could  see  a  crimson  beam  glowing  upon  a 
crucifix  that  stood  on  the  wayside  by  the  hill-foot  yonder; 
but  the  cheerless  monotony  of  plough  land  and  of  pasture, 
stretching  away  leafless,  treeless,  without  bud  or  flower, 
herd  or  herdsman,  church  or  cottage,  to  the  shadowed 
horizon,  looming  dark  as  the  twilight  deepened,  was  in 
sympathy  with  the  gloom  which  had  come  upon  me  as 
Martin  Hall  ceased  to  speak.  I  had  thought  the  man  a 
fool  and  witless,  flighty  in  purpose  and  shallow  in  thought, 
and  yet  he  seemed  to  speak  of  great  mysteries — and  of 
death.  In  one  moment  the  jester's  cloak  fell  from  him, 
and  I  saw  the  mail  beneath.  He  had  made  a  great  im- 
pression upon  me,  but  I  concealed  it  from  him,  and  re- 
plied jauntily  and  with  no  show  of  gravity — 


8  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Tell  me,  are  you  quite  certain  that  you  are  not  talking 
nonsense?" 

He  replied  by  asking  me  to  take  his  hand.  I  took  it — 
it  was  chill  with  the  icy  cold  as  of  death;  and  I  doubted 
his  meaning  no  rrore,  but  determined  to  have  the  whole 
mystery,  then  so  faintly  sketched,  laid  bare  before  me. 

"If  you  are  not  playing  the  fool,  Hall,"  said  I,  "and 
if  you  are  sincere  in  wishing  me  to  do  something  which 
you  say  is  a  favour  to  you,  you  must  be  more  explicit.  In 
the  first  place,  how  did  you  get  this  absurd  notion  that 
you  are  going  to  die  into  your  head?  secondly,  what  is  the 
nature  of  the  obligation  you  wish  to  put  upon  me?  It  is 
quite  clear  that  I  can't  accept  a  trust  about  which  I  know 
nothing,  and  I  think  that  for  undiluted  vagueness  your 
words  deserve  a  medal.  Let  us  begin  at  the  beginning, 
which  is  a  very  good  place  to  begin  at.  Now,  why  should 
you,  who  are  going  to  Paris,  as  far  as  I  know,  simply  as  a 
common  sightseer,  have  any  reason  to  fear  some  mysterious 
calamity  in  a  city  where  you  don't  know  a  soul?" 

He  laughed  softly,  looking  out  for  a  moment  on  the 
sunless  fields,  but  his  eyes  flashed  lights  when  he  answered 
me,  and  I  saw  that  he  clenched  his  hands  so  that  the  nails 
pierced  the  flesh. 

"Why  am  I  going  to  Paris  without  aim,  do  you  say? 
Without  aim — I,  who  have  waited  years  for  the  work  I 
believe  that  I  shall  accomplish  to-night — why  am  I  going 
to  Paris?  Ha!  I  will  tell  you:  I  am  going  to  Paris  to 
meet  one  who,  before  another  year  has  gone,  will  be 
wanted  by  every  Government  in  Europe;  who,  if  I  do  not 
put  my  hand  upon  his  throat  in  the  midst  of  his  foul  work, 
will  make  graves  as  thick  as  pines  in  the  wood  there  before 
you  know  another  month;  one  who  is  mad  and  who  is 


/  MAKE  AN  APPOINTMENT.  9 

sane,  one  who,  if  he  knew  my  purpose,  would  crush  me 
as  I  crush  this  paper;  one  who  has  everything  that  life 
can  give  and  seeks  more,  a  man  who  has  set  his  face 
against  humanity,  and  who  will  make  war  on  the  nations, 
who  has  money  and  men,  who  can  command  and  be 
obeyed  in  ten  cities,  against  whom  the  police  might  as 
well  hope  to  fight  as  against  the  white  wall  of  the  South 
Sea;  a  man  of  purpose  so  deadly  that  the  wisest  in  crime 
would  not  think  of  it — a  man,  in  short,  who  is  the  product 
of  culminating  vice — him  I  am  going  to  meet  in  this  Paris 
where  I  go  without  aim — without  aim,  ha!" 

"And  you  mean  to  run  him  down?"  I  asked,  as  his 
voice  sank  to  a  hoarse  whisper,  and  the  drops  stood  as 
beads  on  his  brow;  "what  interest  have  you  in  him?" 

"At  the  moment  none;  but  in  a  month  the  interest  of 
money.  As  sure  as  you  and  I  talk  of  it  now,  there  will  be 
fifty  thousand  pounds  offered  for  knowledge  of  him  before 
December  comes  upon  us!" 

I  looked  at  him  as  at  one  who  dreams  dreams,  but  he 
did  not  flinch. 

"You  meet  the  man  in  Paris?"  I  went  on. 

"To-night  I  shall  be  with  him,"  he  answered;  "within 
three  days  I  win  all  or  lose  all:  for  his  secret  will  be 
mine.  If  I  fail,  it  is  for  you  to  follow  up  the  thread  which 
I  have  unravelled  by  three  years'  hard  work " 

"What  sort  of  person  do  you  say  he  is?"  I  continued, 
and  he  replied — 

"You  shall  see  for  yourself.  Dare  you  risk  coming 
with  me — I  meet  him  at  eight  o'clock?" 

"Dare  I  risk! — pooh,  there  can't  be  much  danger." 

"There  is  every  danger! — but,  so,  the  girl  is  waking!" 

It  was  true ;  Mary  looked  up  suddenly  as  we  thundered 


io  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

past  the  fortifications  of  Paris,  and  said,  as  people  do  say 
in  such  circumstances,  "Why,  I  believe  I've  been  asleep!" 
Roderick  shook  himself  like  a  great  bear,  and  asked  if  we 
had  passed  Chantilly;  the  Perfect  Fool  began  his  banter, 
and  roared  for  a  cab  as  the  lights  of  the  station  twinkled 
in  the  semi-darkness.  I  could  scarce  believe,  as  I  watched 
his  antics,  that  he  was  the  man  who  had  spoken  to  me  of 
great  mysteries  ten  minutes  before.  Still  less  could  I 
convince  myself  that  he  had  not  many  days  to  live.  So 
are  the  fateful  things  of  life  hidden  from  us. 


XX 

CHAPTER  II. 

I  MEET  CAPTAIN   BLACK. 

THE  lights  of  Paris  were  very  bright  as  we  drove  down 
the  Boulevard  des  Capucines,  and  drew  up  at  length  at 
the  Hotel  Scribe,  which  is  by  the  Opera  House.  Mary 
uttered  a  hundred  exclamations  of  joy  as  we  passed 
through  the  city  of  lights;  and  Roderick,  who  loved 
Paris,  condescended  to  keep  awake. 

"I'll  tell  you  what,"  he  exclaimed,  after  a  period  of 
profound  reflection,  "the  beauty  of  this  place  is  that  no 
one  thinks  here,  except  about  cooking,  and  after  all,  cook- 
ing is  one  of  the  first  things  worthy  of  serious  speculation, 
isn't  it?  Suppose  we  plan  a  nice  little  dinner  for  four?" 

"For  two,  my  dear  fellow,  if  you  please,"  said  Hall, 
with  mock  of  state — he  was  quite  the  Perfect  Fool  again. 
"Mr.  Mark  Strong  condescends  to  dine  with  me,  and  in 
that  utter  unselfishness  of  character  peculiar  to  him  insists 
on  paying  the  bill — don't  you,  Mr.  Mark?" 

I  answered  that  I  did,  and,  be  it  known,  I  was  the 
Mark  Strong  referred  to. 

"The  fact  is,  Roderick,"  I  explained,  "that  I  made  a 
promise  to  meet  one  of  Mr.  Hall's  friends  to-night,  so  you 
and  Mary  must  dine  alone.  You  can  then  go  to  sleep, 
don't  you  see,  or  take  Mary  out  and  buy  her  something." 

"Yes,  that  would  be  splendid,  Roderick,"  cried  Mary, 
all  the  girlish  excitement  born  of  Paris  strong  upon  her. 
"Let's  go  and  buy  a  hundred  things" — Roderick  groaned 
— "but  I  wish,  Mark,  you  weren't  going  to  leave  us  on 
our  first  night  here;  you  know  what  you  said  only  yes- 
terday!" 


12  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"What  did  I  say  yesterday?" 

"That  there  were  a  lot  of  bounders  in  Paris — and  I 
want  to  see  them  bound!" 

I  consoled  her  by  telling  her  that  bounders  never  made 
display  after  six  o'clock,  and  assured  her  that  Roderick 
had  long  confessed  to  me  his  intention  to  buy  her  the  best 
hat  in  Paris,  at  which  Roderick  muttered  exclamations  for 
my  ear  only.  By  that  time  we  were  at  the  Hotel,  and 
the  Perfect  Fool  had  much  to  say. 

"Could  any  gentleman  oblige  me  with  the  time,  English 
or  French?"  he  asked;  "my  watch  is  so  moved  at  the 
situation  in  which  it  finds  itself  that  it  Is  fourteen  hours 
too  slow." 

I  told  him  that  it  was  ten  minutes  to  eight,  and  the 
information  quickened  him. 

"Ten  minutes  to  eight,  and  half-a-dozen  Russian 
princes,  to  say  nothing  of  an  English  knight,  to  meet;  so 
ho,  my  toilet  must  remain !  Could  anyone  oblige  me  with 
a  comb,  fragmentary  or  whole?" 

He  continued  his  banter  as  we  mounted  the  stairs  of  the 
cozy  little  hotel,  whose  windows  overlook  the  core  of  the 
great  throbbing  heart  of  Paris,  and  so  until  we  were  alone 
in  my  room,  whither  he  had  followed  me. 

"Quick's  the  word,'  he  said,  as  he  shut  the  door,  and 
took  several  articles  from  his  hat-box,  "and  no  more 
palaver.  One  pair  of  spectacles,  one  wig,  one  set  of 
curiosities  to  sell — do  I  look  like  a  second-hand  dealer  in 
odd  lots,  or  do  I  not,  Mr.  Mark  Strong?" 

I  had  never  seen  such  an  utter  change  in  any  man  made 
with  such  little  show.  The  Perfect  Fool  was  no  longer 
before  me;  there  was  in  his  place  a  lounging,  shady-look- 
ing, greed-haunted  Hebrew.  The  hunching  of  the 
shoulders  was  perfect;  the  stoop,  the  walk,  were  tri- 


THE  NEW  PERFECT  FOOL.  13 

umphs.  But  he  gave  me  little  opportunity  to  inspect  him 
or  to  ask  for  what  reason  he  had  thus  disguised  himself. 

"It's  five  minutes  from  here,"  he  said,  '"and  the  clocks 
are  going  eight — you  are  right  as  you  are,  for  you  are  a 
cipher  in  the  affair  yet,  and  don't  run  the  danger  I  run — 
now  come!" 

Ke  passed  down  the  stairs  with  this  blunt  invitation, 
and  I  followed  him.  So  good  was  his  disguise  and  make- 
pretence  that  the  others,  who  were  in  the  narrow  hall, 
drew  back  to  let  him  go,  not  recognising  him,  and  spoke 
to  me,  asking  what  I  had  done  with  him.  Then  I  pointed 
to  the  new  Perfect  Fool,  and  without  another  word  of 
explanation  went  on  into  the  street. 

We  walked  in  silence  for  some  little  distance,  keeping 
by  the  Opera,  and  so  through  to  the  broad  Boulevard 
Haussmann.  Thence  he  turned,  crossing  the  busy  thor- 
oughfare, and  passing  through  the  Rue  Joubert,  stopped 
quite  suddenly  at  last  in  the  mouth  of  a  cul-de-sac  which 
opened  from  the  narrow  street.  lie  had  something  to  say 
to  me,  and  he  gave  it  with  quick  words  prompted  by  a 
quick  and  serious  wit,  for  he  had  put  off  the  role  of  jester 
at  the  hotel. 

"This  is  the  place,"  he  said;  "up  here  on  the  third, 
and  there  isn't  much  time  for  talk.  Just  this ;  you're  my 
man,  you  carry  this  box  of  metal" — he  meant  the  case 
of  curiosities — "and  don't  open  your  mouth,  unless  you 
get  the  fool  in  you  and  want  the  taste  of  a  six-inch  knife. 
That's  my  risk,  and  I  haven't  brought  you  here  to  share 
it ;  so  mum's  the  word,  mum,  mum,  mum ;  and  keep  a 
hold  on  your  eyes,  whatever  you  see  or  whatever  you 
hear.  Do  I  look  all  right?" 

"  Perfectly — but  just  a  word ;  if  we  are  going  into  some 


H  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

den  where  we  may  have  a  difficulty  in  getting  out  again, 
wouldn't  it  be  as  well  to  go  armed?" 

" Armed! — pish!" — and  he  looked  unutterable  con- 
tempt, treading  the  passage  with  long  strides,  and  enter- 
ing a  house  at  the  far  end  of  it. 

Thither  I  followed  him,  still  wondering,  and  passing 
the  concierge  found  myself  at  last  on  the  third  floor,  be- 
fore a  door  of  thick  oak.  Our  first  knocking  upon  this 
had  no  effect,  but  at  the  second  attempt,  and  while  he  was 
pulling  his  hat  yet  more  upon  his  eyes,  I  heard  a  great 
rolling  voice  which  seemed  to  echo  on  the  stairway,  and 
so  leapt  from  flight  to  flight,  almost  like  the  rattle  of  a 
cannon-shot  with  its  many  reverberations.  For  the  mo- 
ment indistinct,  I  then  became  aware  that  the  voice  was 
that  of  a  man  singing  and  walking  at  the  same  time,  and 
seemingly  in  no  hurry  to  give  us  admission,  for  he  passed 
from  room  to  room  bellowing  this  refrain,  and  never 
varying  it  by  so  much  as  a  single  word : — 

"There  was  a  man  of  Boston  town, 
With  his  pistols  three, 
With  his  pistols  three,  three,  three; 
And  never  a  skunk  in  Boston  town 
That  he  didn't  chaw  but  me!" 

When  the  noise  stopped  at  last,  there  was  silence,  com- 
plete and  unbroken,  for  at  least  five  minutes,  during  which 
time  Hall  stood  motionless,  waiting  for  the  door  to  be 
opened.  After  that  we  heard  a  great  yell  from  the  same 
voice,  with  the  words,  "Ahoy,  Splinters,  shift  along  the 
gear,  will  you?"  and  then  Splinters,  whoever  he  might  be, 
was  cursed  in  unchosen  phrases  as  the  son  of  all  the  lub- 
bers that  ever  crowded  a  fo'castle.  A  mumbled  discus- 


NO  SORT  OF  A  MAN.  15 

sion  seemed  to  tread  on  the  heels  of  the  hullabaloo,  when, 
apparently  having  arranged  the  "gear"  to  satisfaction,  the 
man  stalked  to  the  door,  singing  once  more  in  stentorian 
tones : — 

"There  was  a  man  of  Boston  town, 
With  his  pistols  three, 
With  his  pistols  " 

"Hullo — the  darned  little  Jew  and  his  kickshaws; 
why,  matey,  so  early  in  the  morning?" 

The  exclamation  came  as  he  saw  us,  putting  his  head 
round  the  door,  and  showing  one  arm  swathed  all  up  in 
dirty  red  flannel.  He  was  no  sort  of  a  man  to  look  at,  as 
the  Scots  say,  for  his  head  was  a  mass  of  dirty  yellow  hair, 
and  his  face  did  not  seem  to  have  known  an  ablution  fo; 
a  week.  But  there  was  an  ugly  jocular  look  about  his 
rabbit-like  eyes,  and  a  great  mark  cut  clean  into  the  side 
of  his  face,  which  were  a  fit  decoration  for  the  red-burnt, 
pitted,  and  horribly  repulsive  countenance  he  betrayed. 
His  leer,  too,  as  he  greeted  Hall,  was  the  evil  leer  of  a 
man  whose  laugh  makes  those  hearing  hush  with  the 
horror  of  it;  and,  on  my  part,  forgetting  the  warning,  I 
looked  at  him  and  drew  back  repelled.  This  he  saw,  and 
with  a  flush  and  a  display  of  one  great  stump  of  a  tooth 
which  protruded  on  his  left  lip,  he  turned  on  me. 

"And  who  may  you  be,  matey,  that  you  don't  go  for  to 
shake  hands  with  Roaring  John  ?  Dip  me  in  brine,  if  you 
was  my  son  I'd  dress  you  down  with  a  two-foot  bar.  Why 
don't  you  teach  the  little  Hebrew  manners,  old  Josfos; 
but  there,"  and  this  he  said  as  he  opened  the  door  wider, 
"so  long  as  our  skipper  will  have  to  do  with  shiners  to  sell 
and  land  barnacles,  what  ken  you  look  for? — walk  right 
along  here," 


16  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

The  room  indicated  opened  from  a  small  hall,  for  the 
place  was  built  after  the  Parisian  fashion — akin  to  that  of 
our  flats — and  was  a  house  in  itself.  The  man  who  called 
himself  "Roaring  John"  entered  the  apartment  before  us, 
bawling  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "Josfos,  the  Jew,  and  his 
pardner  come  aboard!"  and  then  I  found  myself  in  the 
strangest  company  and  the  strangest  place  I  have  ever  set 
eyes  on.  So  soon  as  I  could  see  things  clearly  through  the 
hanging  atmosphere  of  tobacco  smoke  and  heavy  vapour,  I 
made  out  the  forms  of  six  or  eight  men,  not  sitting  as  men 
usually  do  in  a  place  where  they  eat,  but  squatting  on  their 
haunches  by  a  series  of  low  narrow  tables,  which  were,  on 
closer  inspection,  nothing  but  planks  put  upon  bricks,  and 
laid  round  the  four  sides  of  the  apartment.  Of  other 
furniture  there  did  not  seem  to  be  a  vestige  in  the  place, 
save  such  as  pertained  to  the  necessities  of  eating  and 
sleeping.  Each  man  lolled  back  on  his  own  pile  of  dirty 
pillows  and  dirtier  blankets;  each  had  before  him  a  great 
metal  drinking-cup,  a  coarse  knife,  which  I  found  was  for 
hacking  meat,  long  rolls  of  plug  tobacco,  and  a  small  red 
bundle,  which  I  doubt  net  was  his  portable  property. 
Each,  too,  was  dressed  exactly  as  his  fellow,  in  a  coarse 
red  shirt,  seaman's  trousers  of  ample  blue  serge,  a  belt 
with  a  clasp-knife  about  his  waist,  and  each  had  some 
bauble  of  a  bracelet  on  his  arm,  and  some  strange  rings 
upon  his  ringers.  In  the  first  amazement  at  seeing  such 
an  assembly  in  the  heart  of  civilised  Paris,  I  did  no  more 
than  glean  a  general  impression,  but  that  was  a  powerful 
one — the  impression  that  I  saw  men  of  all  ages  from 
twenty-five  years  upwards;  men  marked  by  time  as  with 
long  service  on  the  sea;  men  scarred,  burnt,  some  with 
traces  of  great  cuts  and  slashes  received  on  the  open  face ; 
men  fierce-looking  as  painted  devils,  with  teeth,  with  none, 


A  CAGE  OF  BEASTS.  17 

with  four  fingers  to  the  hand,  with  three;  men  whose 
laugh  was  a  horrid  growl  like  the  tumult  of  imprisoned 
passions,  whose  threats  chilled  the  heart  to  hear,  whose 
very  words  seemed  to  poison  the  air,  who  made  the  great 
room  like  a  cage  of  beasts,  ravenous  and  ill-seeking.  This 
and  more  was  my  first  thought,  as  I  asked  myself,  into 
what  hovel  of  vice  have  I  fallen,  by  what  mischance  have 
I  come  on  such  a  company? 

Martin  Hall  seemed  to  have  no  such  ill  opinion  of  the 
men,  and  put  himself  at  his  ease  the  moment  we  entered. 
I  had,  indeed,  believed  for  a  moment  that  he  had  brought 
me  there  with  evil  intent,  distrusting  the  man  who  was 
yet  little  more  than  a  stranger  to  me;  but  recalling  all 
that  passed,  his  disguise,  his  evident  fear,  I  put  the  sus- 
picion from  me,  and  listened  to  him,  more  content,  as  he 
made  his  way  to  the  top  of  the  room  and  stood  before  one 
who  forced  from  me  individual  notice,  so  strange-looking 
was  he,  and  so  deep  did  the  respect  which  all  paid  him  ap- 
pear to  be.  We  shall  meet  this  man  often  in  our  travels 
together,  you  and  I,  my  friends,  so  a  few  words,  if  you 
please,  about  him.  He  sat  at  the  head  of  the  rude  table,  as 
I  have  said,  but  not  as  the  others  sat,  on  pillows  and  blan- 
kets, for  there  was  a  pile  of  rich-looking  skins — bear,  tiger, 
and  white  wolf — beneath  him,  and  he  alone  of  all  the  com- 
pany wore  black  clothes  and  a  white  shirt.  He  was  a  short 
man,  I  judged,  black-bearded  and  smooth-skinned,  with  a 
big  nose,  almost  an  intellectual  forehead,  small,  white-look- 
ing hands,  all  ablaze  with  diamonds,  about  whose  fine 
quality  there  could  not  be  two  opinions;  and,  what  was 
even  more  remarkable,  there  hung  as  a  pendant  to  his 
watch-chain  a  great  uncut  ruby  which  must  have  been 
worth  •five  thousand  pounds.  One  trademark  of  the  sea 
alone  did  he  possess,  in  the  dark  curly  ringlets  which  fell 


i8  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

to  his  shoulders,  matted  there  as  long  uncombed,  but  typi- 
cal in  all  of  the  men.  This  then  was  the  fellow  upon 
whose  every  word  that  company  of  ruffians  appeared  to 
hang,  who  obeyed  him,  as  I  observed  presently,  when  he 
did  so  much  as  lift  his  hand,  who  seemed  to  have  in  their 
uncouth  way  a  veneration  for  him,  inexplicable,  remarka- 
ble— the  man  of  whom  Martin  Hall  had  painted  such  a 
fantastic  picture,  who  was,  as  I  had  been  told,  soon  to  be 
wanted  by  every  Government  in  Europe.  And  so  I  faced 
him  for  the  first  time,  little  thinking  that  before  many 
months  had  gone  I  should  know  of  deeds  by  his  hand 
which  had  set  the  world  aflame  with  indignation,  deeds 
which  carried  me  to  strange  places,  and  among  dangers  so 
terrible  that  I  shudder  when  the  record  brings  back  their 
reality. 

Hall  was  the  first  to  speak,  and  it  was  evident  to  me  that 
he  cloaked  his  own  voice,  putting  on  the  nasal  twang  and 
the  manner  of  an  East-end  Jew  dealer. 

"I  have  come,  Mister  Black,"  he  said,  "as  you  was 
good  enough  to  wish,  with  a  few  little  things — beautiful 
things — which  cost  me  moosh  money " 

"Ho,  ho!"  sang  out  Captain  Black,  "here  is  a  Jew 
who  paid  much  money  for  a  few  little  things!  Look  at 
him,  boys! — the  Jew  with  much  money!  Turn  out  his 
pockets,  boys! — the  Jew  with  much  money!  Ho,  ho! 
Bring  the  Jew  some  drink,  and  the  little  Jew,  by 
thunder!" 

His  merriment  set  all  the  company  roaring  to  his  mood. 
For  a  moment  their  play  was  far  from  innocent,  for  one 
lighted  a  great  sheet  of  paper  and  burnt  it  under  the  nose 
of  my  friend,  while  another  pushed  his  dirty  drinking-pot 
to  my  mouth,  and  would  have  forced  me  to  drink.  But  I 
remembered  Hall's  words,  and  held  still,  giving  banter  for 


CAPTAIN  BLACK  CALLS  FOR  LIGHTS.     19 

banter — only  this,  I  learnt  to  my  intense  surprise  that  the 
pot  did  not  contain  beer  but  champagne,  and  that,  by  its 
bouquet,  of  an  infinitely  fine  quality.  In  what  sort  of  -4 
company  was  I,  then,  where  mere  seamen  wore  diamona 
rings  and  drank  fine  champagne  from  pewrter  pots? 

The  unpleasant  and  rough  banter  ceased  on  a  word 
from  Captain  Black,  who  called  for  lights,  which  were 
brought — rough,  ready-made  oil  flares  stuck  in  jugs  and 
pots — and  Hall  gathered  up  his  trinkets  and  proceeded  to 
lay  them  out  with  the  well-simulated  cunning  of  the 
trader. 

"That,  Mister  Black,"  he  said,  putting  a  miniature  of 
exquisite  finish  against  the  white  fur  on  the  floor,  "is  a 
portrait  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  sometime  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Empress  Josephine;  that  is  a  gold  chain — 
he  was  eighteen  carat — once  the  property  of  Don  Carlos; 
here  is  the  pen  with  which  Francis  Drake  wrote  his  last 
letter  to  the  Queen  Elizabeth — beautiful  goods  as  ever 
was,  and  cost  moosh  money!" 

"To  the  dead  with  your  much  money,"  said  the  Captain 
with  an  angry  gesture,  as  he  snatched  the  trinkets  from 
him,  and  eyed  them  to  my  vast  surprise  with  the  air  of  a 
practised  connoisseur;  "let's  handle  the  stuff,  and  don't 
gibber.  How  much  for  this?"  He  held  up  the  miniature, 
and  admiration  betrayed  itself  in  his  eyes. 

"He  was  painted  by  Sir  William  Ross,  and  I  sell  him 
for  two  hundred  pounds,  my  Captain.  Not  a  penny  less, 
or  I'm  a  ruined  man!" 

"The  Jew  a  ruined  man!  Hark  at  him!  'Four-Eyes," 
— this  to  a  great  lanky  fellow  who  lay  asleep  in  the  corner 
- — "the  little  Jew  can't  sell  'em  under  two  hundred,  I 
reckon;  oh,  certainly  not;  why,  of  course.  Here  you, 


20  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

Splinters,  pay  him  for  a  thick-skinned,  thieving  shark,  and 
give  him  a  hundred  for  the  others." 

The  boy  Splinters,  who  was  a  black  lad,  seemingly  about 
twelve  years  old,  came  up  at  the  word,  and  took  a  great 
canvas  bag  from  a  hook  on  the  wall.  He  counted  three 
hundred  gold  pieces  on  the  floor — pieces  of  all  coinages  in 
Europe  and  America,  as  they  appeared  to  be  by  their  faces, 
and  Hall,  who  had  squatted  like  the  others,  picked  them 
up.  Then  he  asked  a  question,  while  the  little  black  lad, 
who  bore  a  look  of  suffering  on  his  worn  face,  stood,  wait- 
ing the  Captain's  word. 

"Mister  Captain,  I  shall  have  waiting  for  me  at 
Plymouth  to-morrow  a  relic  of  the  great  John  Hawkins, 
which,  as  I'm  alive,  you  shouldn't  miss.  I  have  heard 
them  say  that  it  is  the  very  sword  with  which  he  cut  the 
Spaniards'  beards.  Since  you  have  told  me  that  you  sail 
to-morrow,  I  have  thought,  if  you  put  me  on  your  ship 
across  to  Plymouth,  I  could  show  you  the  goods,  and  you 
shall  have  them  cheap — beautiful  goods,  if  I  lose  by 
them." 

Now,  instead  of  answering  this  appeal  as  he  had  done 
the  others,  with  his  great  guffaw  and  banter,  Captain 
Black  turned  upon  Hall  as  he  made  his  request,  and  his 
face  lit  up  with  passion.  I  saw  that  his  eyes  gave  one  fiery 
look,  while  he  clenched  his  fist  as  though  to  strike  the  man 
as  he  sat,  but  then  he  restrained  himself.  Yet,  had  I  been 
Hall,  I  would  not  have  faced  such  another  glance  for  all 
that  adventure  had  given  me.  It  was  a  look  which  meant 
ill — all  the  ill  that  one  man  could  mean  to  another. 

"You  want  to  come  aboard  my  boat,  do  you?"  drawled 
the  Captain,  as  he  softened  his  voice  to  a  fine  tone  of 
sarcasm.  "The  dealer  wants  a  cheap  passage;  so-ho,  what 


AT  MIDNIGHT,  TIDE  SERVING.          21 

do  you  say,  Four-Eyes;    shall  \ve  take  the  man  aboard?" 

Four-Eyes  sat  up  deliberately,  and  struck  himself  on  the 
chest  several  times  as  though  to  knock  the  sleep  out  of  him. 
He  seemed  to  be  a  brawny,  thick-set  Irishman,  gigantic  in 
limb,  and  with  a  more  honest  countenance  than  his  fellows. 
He  wore  a  short  pea-jacket  over  the  dirty  red  shirt,  and  a 
great  pair  of  carpet  slippers  in  place  of  the  sea-boots  which 
many  of  the  others  displayed.  His  hair  was  light  and  curly, 
and  his  eyes,  keen-looking  and  large,  \vere  of  a  grey-blue 
and  not  unkindly-looking.  I  thought  him  a  man  of  some 
deliberation  for  he  stared  at  the  Captain  and  at  Hall  be- 
fore he  answered  the  question  put  to  him,  and  then  he 
drank  a  full  and  satisfying  draught  from  the  cup  before 
him.  When  he  did  give  reply,  it  was  in  a  rich  rolling 
voice,  a  luxurious  voice  which  would  have  given  ornament 
to  the  veriest  commonplace. 

"Oi'd  take  him  aboard,  bedad,"  he  shouted,  leaning 
back  as  though  he  had  spoken  wisdom,  and  then  he  nodded 
to  the  Captain,  and  the  Captain  nodded  to  him. 

The  understanding  seemed  complete. 

"We  sail  at  midnight,  tide  serving,"  said  the  Captain, 
as  he  picked  up  the  miniature  and  the  other  things;  "you 
can  come  aboard  when  you  like — here,  boy,  lock  these  in 
the  chest." 

The  boy  put  out  his  hand  to  take  the  things,  but  in  his 
fear  or  his  clumsiness,  he  dropped  the  miniature,  and  it 
cracked  upon  the  floor.  The  mishap  gave  me  my  first  real 
opportunity  of  judging  these  men  in  the  depth  of  their 
ruffianism.  As  the  lad  stood  quivering  and  terror-struck, 
Black  turned  upon  him,  almost  foaming  at  the  lips. 

"You  clumsy  young  cub,  what  d'ye  mean  by  that?"  he 
asked ;  and  then,  as  the  boy  fell  on  his  knees  to  beg  for 


22  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

mercy,  casting  one  pitiful  look  towards  me — a  look  I  shall 
not  soon  forget — he  kicked  him  with  his  foot,  crying — 

"Here,  give  him  a  dozen  with  your  strap,  one  of  you." 

He  had  but  to  say  the  words,  when  a  colossal  brute 
seized  the  boy  in  his  grip,  and  held  his  head  down  to  the 
table  board,  while  another,  no  more  gentle,  stripped  his 
shirt  off  and  struck  him  blow  after  blow  with  the  great 
buckle,  so  that  the  flesh  was  torn,  while  the  blood  trickled 
upon  the  floor.  The  brutal  act  stirred  the  others  to  a  fine 
merriment,  yet  for  myself,  I  had  all  the  will  to  spring  up 
and  grip  the  striker  as  he  stood,  but  Hall,  who  had  cov- 
ered my  hand  with  his,  held  it  so  surely,  and  with  such 
prodigious  strength,  that  my  fingers  almost  cracked.  It 
was  the  true  sign-manual  for  me  to  say  nothing,  and  I 
realised  how  hopeless  such  a  struggle  would  be,  and 
turned  my  head  that  I  should  not  sec  the  cruel  thing  to 
the  end.  • 

When  the  lad  fainted  they  gave  him  a  few  kicks  with 
their  heavy  boots,  and  he  lay  like  a  log  on  the  floor,  until 
the  ruffian  named  "Roaring  John"  picked  him  up  and 
threw  him  into  the  next  room.  The  incident  was  forgot- 
ten at  once,  and  Captain  Black  became  quite  merry. 

"Bring  in  the  victuals,  you  John,"  he  said,  "and  let 
Dick  say  us  a  grace;  he's  been  doing  nothing  but  drink 
these  eight  hours." 

Dick,  a  red-haired,  penetrating-looking  Scotsman,  who 
carried  the  economy  of  his  race  even  to  the  extent  of 
flesh,  of  which  he  was  sparse,  greeted  the  reproof  by  cast- 
ing down  his  eyes  into  the  empty  can  before  him. 

"Is  a  body  to  cheer  himself  wi'  naething?"  he  asked; 
"not  wi'  a  bit  food  and  drink  after  twa  days'  toil?  It's 
an  unreasonable  man  ye  are,  Mister  Black,  an'  I  dinna  ken 
if  I'll  remain  another  hoor  as  meenister  to  yer  vessel." 


DICK  RESIGNS.  23 

"Ho,  ho,  Dick  the  Ranter  sends  in  his  resignation; 
listen  to  that,  boys,"  said  the  Captain,  who  had  found  his 
humour  again.  "Dick  will  not  serve  the  honourable  com- 
pany any  longer.  Ho,  swear  for  the  strangers,  Dick,  and 
let  'em  hear  your  tongue." 

The  man,  rascal  and  ill-tongued  as  I  doubt  not  he  was 
at  times,  refused  to  comply  with  the  demand  as  the  food 
at  length  was  put  upon  the  table.  It  was  rich  food,  stews, 
with  a  profuse  display  of  oysters,  chickens,  boiled,  roast, 
a  la  maitre  d'hotel,  fine  French  trifles,  pasties,  ices — and  it 
was  to  be  washed  down,  I  saw,  by  draughts  from  mag- 
nums of  Pommery  and  Greno.  I  was,  at  this  stage,  so 
well  accustomed  to  the  scene  that  the  novelty  of  a  com- 
pany of  dirty,  repulsive-looking  seamen  banqueting  in  this 
style  did  not  surprise  me  one  whit,  only  I  wished  to 
be  away  from  a  place  whose  atmosphere  poisoned  me,  and 
where  every  word  seemed  garnished  with  some  horrible 
oath.  I  whispered  this  thought  to  Hall,  and  he  said, 
"Yes,"  and  rose  to  go,  but  the  captain  pulled  him  back, 
crying — 

"What,  little  Jew,  you  wouldn't  eat  at  other  people's 
cost !  Down  with  it,  man,  down  with  it ;  fill  your  pockets, 
stuff  'em  to  the  top.  Let's  see  you  laugh,  old  wizen-face, 
a  great  sixty  per  cent,  croak  coming  from  your  very  boots 
— here,  you  John,  give  the  man  who  hasn't  got  any  money 
some  more  drink;  make  him  take  a  draught." 

The  men  were  becoming  warmed  with  the  stuff  they 
had  taken,  and  furiously  offensive.  One  of  them  held  Hall 
while  the  others  forced  champagne  down  his  throat,  and 
the  man  "Roaring  John"  attempted  to  pay  me  a  similar 
compliment,  but  I  struck  the  cup  from  his  hand,  and  he 
drew  a  knife,  turning  on  me.  The  action  was  foolish,  for 


24  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

in  a  moment  a  tumult  ensued.  I  heard  fierce  cries,  the 
smash  of  overturned  boards  and  lights,  and  remembered  no 
more  than  some  terrific  blows  delivered  with  my  left,  as 
Molt  of  Cambridge  taught  me,  a  sharp  pain  in  my  rig'nt 
shoulder  as  a  knife  went  home,  the  voice  of  Hall  crying, 
"Make  for  the  door — the  door,"  and  the  great  yell  of 
Captain  Black  above  the  others.  His  word,  no  doubt, 
saved  us  from  greater  harm ;  for  when  I  had  thought  that 
my  foolhardiness  had  undone  us,  and  that  we  should  never 
leave  the  place  alive,  I  found  myself  in  the  Rue  Joubert 
with  Hall  at  my  side,  he  torn  and  bleeding  as  I  was,  but 
from  a  slight  wound  only. 

"That  was  near  ending  badly,"  he  said,  looking  at  the 
skin-deep  cut  on  my  shoulder.  "They're  wild  enough 
sober,  but  Heaven  save  anyone  from  them  when  they're 
the  other  way!" 

I  looked  at  him  steadily  for  a  moment;  then  I  asked — 

"Hall,  what  does  it  mean?  Who  are  these  men,  and 
what  business  carries  you  amongst  them?" 

"That  you'll  learn  when  you  open  the  papers;  but  I 
don't  think  you  will  open  them  yet,  for  I'm  going  to 
succeed:7'  He  was  gay  almost  to  frivolity  once  more. 
"Did  you  hear  him  ask  me  to  sail  with  him  from  Dieppe 
to-morrow?" 

"I  did,  and  I  believe  you're  fool  enough  to  go.  Did 
you  see  the  look  he  gave  you  when  he  said  'Yes'  ?" 

"Never  mind  his  look.  I  must  risk  that  and  more,  as 
I  have  risked  it  many  a  time.  Once  aboard  his  yacht  I 
shall  have  the  key  \vhich  will  unlock  six  feet  of  rope  for 
that  man,  or  you  may  call  me  the  Fool  again." 

It  was  light  with  the  roseate,  warm  light  of  a  late 
summer's  dawn  as  we  reached  the  hotel.  Paris  slept,  and 


I  WAS  HUNGRY  FOR  SLEEP.  25 

the  stillness  of  her  streets  greeted  the  life-giving  day, 
\vhile  the  grey  mist  floated  away  before  the  scattered  sun- 
beams, and  the  houses  stood  clear-cut  in  the  finer  air.  I 
was  hungry  for  sleep,  and  too  tired  to  think  more  of  the 
strange  dream-like  scene  I  had  witnessed;  but  Hall  fol- 
lowed me  to  my  bedroom  and  had  yet  a  word  to  say. 

"Before  we  part — we  may  not  meet  again  for  some 
time,  for  I  leave  Paris  in  a  couple  of  hours — I  want  to  ask 
you  to  do  me  yet  one  more  service.  Your  yacht  is  at 
Calais,  I  believe — will  you  go  aboard  this  morning  and 
take  her  round  to  Plymouth?  There  ask  for  news  of  the 
American's  yacht — he  has  only  hired  her,  and  she  is  called 
La  France.  News  of  the  yacht  will  be  news  of  me,  and  I 
shall  be  glad  to  think  that  someone  is  at  my  back  in  this 
big  risk.  If  you  should  not  hear  of  me,  wait  a  month ; 
but  if  you  get  definite  proof  of  my  death,  break  the  seal 
of  the  papers  you  hold  and  read — but  I  don't  think  it  will 
come  to  that."' 

Co  saying,  he  left  me  with  a  hearty  handshake.  •  Poor 
fellow,  I  did  not  know  then  that  I  should  break  the  seal 
of  his  papers  within  three  days. 


26 

CHAPTER  III. 

"FOUR-EYES"  DELIVERS  A  MESSAGE. 

A  WARMING  glare  of  the  fuller  sun  upon  my  eyes,  the 
cracking  of  whips,  the  shouting  of  fierce-lunged  coachmen, 
the  hum  of  moving  morning  life  in  the  city,  stirred  me 
from  a  deep  sleep  as  the  clock  struck  ten.  I  sat  up  in  bed, 
uncertain  in  the  effort  of  wit-gathering  if  night  had  not 
given  me  a  dream  rather  than  an  experience,  a  chance  play 
of  the  brain's  imagining,  and  not  a  living  knowledge  of 
true  scenes  and  strange  men.  For  in  this  mood  does  na- 
ture often  play  with  us,  tricking  us  to  fine  thoughts  as  we 
lie  dreaming,  or  creating  such  shows  of  life  as  we  slumber, 
that  in  our  first  moments  of  wakefulness  we  do  not  detect 
the  cheat  or  reckon  with  the  phantoms.  I  knew  not  for 
some  while,  as  I  lay  back  listening  to  the  hum  of  busy 
Paris,  if  the  Perfect  Fool  had  or  had  not  told  me  any- 
thing, if  we  had  gone  together  to  a  house  near  the  Rue 
Joubert,  or  if  we  had  remained  in  the  hotel,  if  he  had 
begged  of  me  some  favour,  or  if  I  had  dreamed  it.  All  was 
but  a  confused  mind-picture,  changing  as  a  kaleidoscope, 
blurred,  shadowy.  It  might  have  remained  so  long,  had 
I  not,  in  looking  about  the  room,  become  aware  that  a 
letter,  neatly  folded,  lay  on  the  small  table  at  my  bedside, 
It  was  the  letter  which  brought  the  consciousness  of  real- 
ity; and  in  that  moment  I  knew  that  I  had  not  dreamed 
but  lived  the  curious  events  of  the  night.  But  these  are 
the  words  which  Martin  Hall  wrote :- 

"Hotel  Scribe.  Seven  a.  m. — I  leave  in  ten  minutes,  and 
write  you  here  my  last  word.  We  shall  said  from  Dieppe 
at  midnight.  Do  not  forget  to  cross  to  Plymouth  if  you 


"MARY!"  27 

have  any  friendship  for  me.     I  look  to  you  alone. — MAR- 
TIN HALL." 

He  had  left  Paris  then,  and  set  out  upon  his  great  risk. 
The  man's  awe-inspiring  courage,  his  immense  self-reli- 
ance, his  deep  purpose,  were  marked  strongly  in  those  few 
simple  words,  and  I  had  never  felt  so  great  an  admira- 
tion for  him.  He  looked  to  me  alone,  and  assuredly  he 
should  not  look  in  vain.  I  would  follow  him  to  Ply- 
mouth, losing  no  moment  in  the  act;  and  I  resolved  then 
to  go  farther  if  the  need  should  be,  and  to  search  for  him 
in  every  land  and  on  every  sea,  for  he  was  a  brave  man 
whose  like  I  had  not  often  known. 

I  dressed  in  haste  with  this  intention,  and  went  to 
dejeuner  in  our  private  room  below.  Roderick  was  there, 
sleepy  over  his  bottle  of  bad  Bordeaux,  and  Mary,  who 
insisted  on  taking  an  English  breakfast,  was  in  the  height 
of  a  dissertation  on  Parisian  tea. 

"Did  you  ever  see  anything  so  feeble?"  she  said,  being 
fond  of  Roderick's  speech  mannerisms,  and  often  mimick- 
ing them.  "Isn't  it  pretty  awful?"  and  she  poured  some 
from  her  spoon. 

"  'Pretty  awful'  is  not  the  expression  for  a  polite  young 
woman,"  replied  Roderick,  with  a  severe  yawn;  "anyone 
who  comes  to  Paris  for  tea  deserves  what  he  gets." 

"Yes,  and  what  he  gets  'takes  the  biscuit.'  ' 

"Mary!" 

"Well,  you  always  say,  'takes  the  biscuit:'  why 
shouldn't  I?" 

"Because,  my  child,  because,"  said  Roderick,  slowly 
and  paternally,  "because — why,  here's  Mark.  Hallo! 
you're  a  pretty  fellow ;  I  hope  you  enjoyed  yourself  last 
night." 

"Exceedingly,  thanks;  in  fact  I  may  say  that  I  had  a 


28  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

most  delightful  evening  with  men  who  suited  me  to  the — 
tea — thank  you,  Mary!  I'll  take  a  cup — and  now  tell 
me,  what  has  he  bought  you?" 

I  thought  that  a  judicious  policy  of  dissimulation  was 
the  wise  course  at  that  time,  for  I  had  not  then  deter- 
mined to  share  my  secret  even  with  Roderick,  as,  indeed, 
by  my  word  I  was  bound  not  to  do  until  Hall  should  so 
wish.  In  this  intent  I  hid  all  my  serious  mood,  and  con- 
tinued the  pleasant  chatter. 

Mary  had  soon  poured  out  a  cup  of  the  decoction  which 
Frenchmen  call  tea,  an  aqueous  product,  the  fluid  of 
chopped  hay  long  stewed  in  tepid  water,  and  then  she 
answered — 

"Let  me  see,  now,  what  did  Roderick  buy  me?  Oh, 
yes!  I  remember,  he  bought  me  a  meerschaum  pipe  and 
a  walking-stick!" 

"A  what?"  I  gasped. 

"A  meerschaum  pipe,  and  a  walking-stick  with  a  little 
man  to  hold  matches  on  the  top  of  it." 

Roderick  looked  guilty,  and  admitted  it. 

"You  see,"  he  said  in  apology,  "they  sold  only  those 
things  at  the  first  place  we  came  to,  and  you  don't  expect 
a  fellow  to  walk  in  Paris,  do  you?  Now,  when  I've  rested 
after  breakfast,  I  suggest  that  we  all  make  up  our  minds 
for  a  long  stroll,  and  get  to  the  Palais  Royal." 

"Well,  that's  about  three  hundred  yards  from  here, 
isn't  it?  Are  you  quite  sure  you're  equal  to  it?" 

He  looked  at  me  reproachfully. 

"You  don't  want  a  man  to  kill  himself  on  his  holiday, 
do  you?  You're  fatally  energetic.  Now,  I  believe  that 
the  science  of  life  is  rest,  the  calm  survey  of  great  prob- 
lems from  the  depths  of  an  armchair.  It's  astonishing 


THE  ONE   CALLED   '*  FOUR-EYES."       29 

how  easy  things  are  If  you  take  them  that  way;  never 
let  anything  agitate  you — I  never  do." 

"No,  he  don't,  does  he,  Mary?  But  about  this  excur- 
sion to  the  Palais  Royal;  I'm  afraid  you'll  have  to  go 
alone,  for  T  have  just  had  a  letter  which  calls  me  back  to 
the  yacht.  It's  awfully  unfortunate,  but  I  must  go,  al- 
though I  will  return  here  in  a  week,  if  possible,  and  pick 
you  up ;  otherwise,  you  will  hear  of  my  movements  as  soon 
as  I  know  them  myself." 

Somewhat  to  my  astonishment,  they  both  looked  at  me, 
saying  nothing,  but  evidently  very  much  surprised.  Mary's 
big  eyes  were  wide  open  with  amazement,  but  Roderick 
had  a  more  serious  look  on  his  face.  He  did  not  question 
me,  he  did  not  say  a  word,  but  I  felt  his  thought — "You 
hold  something  back" — and  the  mute  reproach  was  keen. 
Perhaps  some  explanation  would  then  have  been  de- 
manded had  not  another  interruption  broken  the  unwel- 
come silence.  One  of  the  servants  of  the  hotel  entered  to 
tell  me  that  a  man  who  wished  to  speak  with  me  was  wait- 
ing outside,  and  asked  if  I  would  see  him  there  or  in  the 
privacy  of  our  room.  As  I  could  not  recall  that  anyone 
in  Paris  had  any  business  with  me,  I  said,  "Send  the  man 
here;"  and  presently  he  entered,  when  to  my  intense  sur- 
prise I  found  him  to  be  no  other  than  one  of  the  ruffians — 
the  one  called  "Four-Eyes"  by  the  Captain  of  the  com- 
pany I  had  met  on  the  previous  evening.  Not  that  he 
seemed  in  any  way  abashed  at  the  meeting — he  walked  into 
the  room  with  a  seaman's  lurch  and  steadied  himself  only 
when  he  saw  Mary.  Then  he  rang  an  imaginary  bell- 
rope  on  his  forehead,  and  "hitched"  himself  together,  as 
sailors  say,  looking  for  all  the  world  like  some  great  dog 
that  has  entered  a  house  where  dogs  are  forbidden.  His 
first  words  were  somewhat  unexpected — 


30  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Oi  was  priest's  boy  in  Tipperary,  bedad,"  said  he,  and 
then  he  looked  round  as  if  that  information  should  put  him 
on  good  terms  with  us. 

"Will  you  sit  down,  please?"  was  my  request  as  he 
stood  fingering  his  hat,  and  looking  at  Mary  as  though  he 
had  seen  a  vision,  ''and  permit  me  to  ask  what  the  fact  of 
your  serving  a  priest  in  Ireland  has  to  do  with  your  pres- 
ence here  now?" 

"That  brings  us  to  the  point  av  it,  and  thanking  yer 
honor,  it's  meself  that  ain't  aisy  on  them  land-craft  which 
don't  carry  me  cargo  on  an  even  keel  at  all,  so  I'll  be 
standin'  with  no  offence  to  the  Missy,  sure,  an'  gettin'  to 
the  writin'  which  is  fur  yer  honor's  ear  alone  as  me  in- 
struckthshuns  goes." 

He  rang  the  bell-rope  over  his  right  eye  again,  and  gave 
me  a  letter,  well  written  on  good  paper.  I  watched  him 
as  I  read  it,  and  saw  that  in  a  power  of  eye  that  was 
astounding,  he  had  fixed  one  orb  upon  Mary  and  one  upon 
the  ceiling,  and  that  the  two  objects  shared  his  gaze,  while 
his  body  swayed  as  though  he  was  unaccustomed  to  bal- 
ance himself  upon  a  fair  floor.  But  I  read  his  letter,  and 
write  it  for  you  here — 

"Captain  Black  presents  his  compliments  to  Mr.  Mark 
Strong,  whom  he  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  last  night, 
and  regrets  the  reception  which  was  offered  to  him.  Cap- 
tain Black  hopes  that  it  will  be  his  privilege  to  receive 
Mr.  Strong  on  his  yacht  La  France,  now  lying  over 
against  the  American  vessel  Portland,  in  Dieppe  harbour, 
at  1 1  to-night,  and  to  extend  to  him  hospitality  worthy 
of  him  and  his  host." 

Now,  that  was  a  curious  thing,  Indeed.  Not  only  did  it 
appear  that  my  pretence  of  being  Hall's  partner  in  trade 
was  completely  unmasked  by  this  man  of  the  Rue  Jou- 


DANGER   TO   HALL.  31 

bert ;  but  he  had  my  name — and,  by  his  tone  in  writing,  it 
was  clear  that  he  knew  my  position,  and  the  fact  that  I 
was  no  trader  at  all.  Whether  such  knowledge  was  good 
for  me,  I  could  not  then  say;  but  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
act  with  cunning,  and  to  shield  Hall  so  far  as  possible. 

"Did  your  master  tell  you  to  wait  for  any  answer?"  I 
asked  suddenly,  as  the  seaman  brought  his  right  eye  from 
the  direction  of  the  ceiling  and  fixed  it  upon  me;  and  he 
said — 

"Is  it  for  the  likes  of  me  to  be  advisin'  yer  honor? 
'Sure,'  says  he,  'if  the  gentleman  has  the  moind  to  wroite 
he'll  wroite,  if  he  has  the  moind  to  come  aboard  me — 
meanin'  his  yacht — he'll  come  aboard ;  and  we'll  be  swim- 
ming in  liquor  together  as  gents  should.  And  if  so  be 
as  the  gentleman'  (which  is  yer  honor),  says  he,  'will  con- 
descend to  wipe  his  fate  on  me  cabin  shates,  let  him  be 
aboard  at  Dieppe  afore  seven  bells,'  says  he,  'and  we'll 
shame  the  ould  divil  with  a  keg,  and  heave  at  daybreak' — 
which  is  yer  honor's  pleasure,  or  otherwise,  as  it's  me  juty 
to  larn!" 

It  needed  no  very  clever  penetration  on  my  part  to  read 
danger  in  every  line  of  this  invitation — not  only  danger  to 
myself,  who  had  been  dragged  by  the  heels  into  the  busi- 
ness, but  danger  to  Hall,  whose  disguise  could  scarce  be 
preserved  when  mine  was  unmasked.  And  yet  he  had  left 
Paris,  and  even  then,  perhaps,  was  in  the  power  of  the 
man  Black  and  his  crew!  What  I  could  do  to  help  him,  I 
could  not  think;  but  I  determined  if  possible  to  glean 
something  from  the  palpably  cunning  rogue  who  had  come 
on  the  errand. 

"I'll  give  you  the  answer  to  this  in  a  minute,"  said  I; 
"meanwhile,  have  a  little  whisky?  A  seaman  like  yourself 
doesn't  thrive  on  cold  water,  does  he?" 


32  THE  SHADOff  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Which  is  philosophy,  yer  honor — for  could  \vather 
never  warmed  any  man  yet — me  respects  to  the  young 
lady" — here  he  looked  deep  into  his  glass,  adding  slowly, 
and  as  if  there  was  credit  to  him  in  the  recollection,  "Oi 
was  priest's  boy  in  Tipperary,  bedad" — and  he  drank  the 
half  of  a  stiff  glass  at  a  draught. 

"Do  you  find  this  good  weather  in  the  Channel?"  I 
inquired  suddenly,  looking  hard  at  him  over  the  table. 

He  made  circles  with  his  glass,  and  turned  his  eyes  upon 
Mary,  before  he  answered;  and  when  he  did,  his  voice 
died  away  like  the  fall  of  a  gale  which  is  tired.  "Noice 
weather,  did  ye  say — by  the  houly  saints,  it  depends.'' 

"On  what?"  I  asked,  driving  the  question  home. 

"On  yer  company,"  said  he,  returning  my  gaze,  "and 
yer  sowl." 

"That's  curious!" 

"Yes,  if  ye  have  one  to  lose,  and  put  anny  price  on 
it." 

His  meaning  was  too  clear. 

"Tell  your  master,  with  my  compliments,"  I  responded, 
"that  I  will  come  another  time — I  have  business  in  Paris 
to-day!" 

He  still  looked  at  me  earnestly,  and  when  he  spoke 
again  his  voice  had  a  fatherly  ring.  "If  I  make  bold,  it's 
yer  honor's  forgiveness  I  ask — but,  if  it  was  me  that 
was  in  Paris  I'd  stay  there,"  and  putting  his  glass  down 
quickly,  he  rolled  to  the  door,  fingered  his  hat  there  for 
one  moment,  put  it  on  awry,  and  with  the  oft-repeated 
statement,  "Oi  was  priest's  boy  in  Tipperary,  bedad,"  he 
swayed  out  of  the  room. 

When  he  was  gone,  the  others,  who  had  not  spoken, 
turned  to  me,  their  eyes  asking  for  an  explanation. 


WE  WERE  ALONE.  33 

"One  of  Hall's  friends,"  Isaid,  trying  to  look  uncon- 
cerned, "the  mate  on  the  yacht  La  France — the  vessel  he 
joins  to-day." 

Roderick  tapped  the  table  with  his  fingers;  Mary  was 
very  white,  I  thought. 

"He  knows  a  queer  company,"  I  added,  with  a  grim 
attempt  at  jocularity,  "they're  almost  as  rough  as  he  is." 

"Do  you  still  mean  to  sail  to-night?"  asked  Roderick. 

"I  must;  I  have  made  a  promise  to  reach  Plymouth 
without  a  moment's  delay." 

"Then  I  sail  with  you,"  said  he,  being  very  wide- 
awake. 

"Oh,  but  you  can't  leave  Paris;  you  promised  Mary!" 

"Yes,  and  I  release  him  at  once,"  interrupted  Mary,  the 
colour  coming  and  going  in  her  pretty  cheeks.  "I  shall 
sail  from  Calais  to-night,  with  you  and  Roderick." 

"It's  very  kind  of  you — but — you  see " 

"That  we  mean  to  come,"  added  Roderick  quickly. 
"Go  and  pack  your  things,  Mary;  I  have  something  to 
say  to  Mark." 

We  were  alone,  he  and  I,  but  there  was  between  us  the 
first  shadow  that  had  come  upon  our  friendship. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "how  much  am  I  to  know?" 

"What  you  choose  to  learn,  and  as  much  as  your  eyes 
teach  you — it's  a  promise,  and  I've  given  my  word  on  it." 

"I  was  sure  of  it.  But  I  don't  like  it  all  the  same — 
I  distrust  that  fool,  who  seems  to  me  a  perfect  madman. 
He'll  drag  you  into  some  mess,  if  you'll  let  him.  I  sup- 
pose there's  no  danger  yet  or  you  wouldn't  let  Mary 
come?" 

"There  can  be  no  risk  now,  be  quite  sure  of  that — we 
are  going  for  a  three  days'  cruise  in  the  Channel,  that  is 
all." 


34  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"All  you  care  to  tell  me — well,  I  can't  ask  more; 
what  time  do  you  start?" 

"By  the  club  train.  I  have  two  hours'  work  to  do  yet, 
but  I  will  meet  you  at  the  station,  if  you'll  bring  my 
bag " 

"Of  course — and  I  can  rest  for  an  hour.  That  always 
does  me  good  in  the  morning." 

I  left  him  so,  being  myself  harassed  by  many  thoughts. 
The  talk  with  Black's  man  did  not  leave  me  any  longer  in 
doubt  that  Hall  had  gone  to  great  risk  in  setting  out  with 
the  ruffian's  crew;  and  I  resolved  that  if  by  any  chance  it 
could  be  done,  I  would  yet  call  him  back  to  Paris.  For 
this  I  went  at  once  to  the  office  of  the  Police,  and  laid  as 
much  of  the  case  before  one  of  the  heads  as  I  thought 
needful  to  my  purpose.  He  laughed  at  me;  the  yacht  La 
France  was  known  to  him  as  the  property  of  an  eccentric 
American  millionaire,  and  he  could  not  conceive  that  any- 
one might  be  in  danger  aboard  her.  As  there  was  no  hope 
from  him,  I  took  a  fiacre  and  drove  to  the  Embassy,  where 
one  of  the  clerks  heard  my  whole  story;  and  while  in- 
wardly laughing  at  my  fears,  as  I  could  see,  promised  to 
telegraph  to  a  friend  in  Calais,  and  get  my  message  de- 
livered. 

I  had  done  all  in  my  power,  and  I  returned  to  the 
Hotel  Scribe;  but  the  others  had  left  for  the  station. 
Thither  I  followed  them,  instructing  a  servant  to  come  to 
me  at  the  Gare  du  Nord  if  any  telegram  should  be  sent; 
and  so  reached  the  train,  and  the  saloon.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  the  very  moment  of  our  departure  that  a 
messenger  raced  to  our  carriage,  and  thrust  a  paper  at  me; 
and  then  I  knew  that  my  warning  had  come  too  late. 
The  paper  said : 

"La  France  has  sailed,  and  your  friend  with  her." 


35 
CHAPTER  IV. 

A    STRANGE    SIGHT   ON    THE    SEA. 

IT  was  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day;  three  bells  in 
the  watch ;  the  wind  playing  fickle  from  east  by  south, 
and  the  sea  agold  with  the  light  of  an  August  sun.  Two 
points  west  of  north  to  starboard  I  saw  the  chalky  cliffs 
of  the  Isle  of  Wight  faint  through  the  haze,  but  away 
ahead  the  Channel  opened  out  as  an  unbroken  sea.  The 
yacht  lay  without  life  in  her  sails,  the  flow  of  the  swell 
beating  lazily  upon  her,  and  the  great  mainsail  rocking  on 
the  boom.  We  had  been  out  twenty-four  hours,  and  had 
not  made  a  couple  of  hundred  miles.  The  delay  angered 
every  man  aboard  the  Celsis,  since  every  man  aboard  knew 
that  it  was  a  matter  of  concern  to  me  to  overtake  the 
American  yacht,  La  France,  and  that  a  life  might  go  with 
long-continued  failure. 

As  the  bells  were  struck,  and  Piping  Jack,  our  boat- 
swain— they  called  him  Piping  Jack  because  he  had  a 
sweetheart  in  every  port  from  Plymouth  to  Aberdeen,  and 
wept  every  time  we  put  to  sea — piped  down  to  breakfast, 
my  captain  betrayed  his  irritation  by  an  angry  sentence. 
He  was  not  given  to  words,  was  Captain  York,  and  the 
men  knew  him  as  "The  Silent  Skipper;"  but  twenty-four 
hours  without  wind  enough  to  "blow  a  bug,"  as  he  put 
it,  was  too  much  for  any  man's  temper. 

"I  tell  you  what,  sir,"  he  said,  sweeping  the  horizon 
with  his  glass  for  the  tenth  time  in  ten  minutes,  "this 
American  of  yours  has  taken  the  breeze  in  his  pocket,  and 
may  it  blow  him  to — I  beg  your  pardon,  I  did  not  see 
that  the  young  lady  had  joined  us," 


36  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

But  Mary  was  there,  fresh  as  a  rose  dipped  in  dew,  and 
as  Roderick  followed  her  up  the  companion  ladder,  we 
held  a  consultation,  the  fifth  since  we  left  Calais. 

"It's  my  opinion,"  said  Roderick,  "that  if  those  men 
of  yours  had  not  been  ashore  on  leave,  York,  and  we 
could  have  sailed  at  midnight,  we  should  have  done  the 
business  and  been  in  Paris  again  by  this  time." 

"It's  my  opinion,  sir,  that  your  opinion  is  not  worth 
a  cockroach,"  cried  the  captain  quite  testily;  "the  men 
have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Look  above;  if  you'll  show 
me  how  to  move  this  ship  without  a  hatful  of  wind,  I'll 
do  it,  sir,"  and  he  strutted  off  to  breakfast,  leaving  us 
with  Dan,  the  forward  look-out. 

Dan  was  a  grand  old  seaman,  and  there  wasn't  one  of 
us  who  didn't  appeal  to  him  in  our  difficulties. 

"Do  you  think  it  means  to  blow,  Dan?"  I  asked, 
as  I  offered  him  my  tobacco-pouch ;  and  Mary  said  earn- 
estly— 

"Oh,  Daniel,  I  do  wish  a  gale  would  come  on!" 

"Ay,  Miss,  and  so  do  many  of  us;  but  we  can't  be 
making  wind  no  more'n  we  can  make  wittals — and  excus- 
ing me,  Miss,  it  ain't  Daniel,  not  meaning  no  disrespect 
to  the  other  gent,  whose  papers  was  all  right,  I  don't 
doubt,  but  my  mother  warn't  easy  in  laming,  and  maybe 
didn't  know  of  him — it's  Dan,  Miss,  free-and-easy  like, 
but  nat'ral." 

"Well,  Dan,  do  you  think  it  will  blow?  Can't  you 
promise  it  will  blow?" 

"Lor,  Miss,  I'd  promise  ye  anything;  but  what  is  nater 
is  nater,  and  there's  an  end  on  it — not  as  I  don't  say  there 
won't  be  a  hatful  o'  wind  afore  night — why  should  I  ? 
but  as  for  promisin'  of  it,  why  I'd  give  ye  a  hurricane 
willing — or  two." 


MY  SCHOONER  AGAIN.  37 

We  went  down  to  breakfast,  the  red  of  sea  strength  on 
our  cheeks;  and  in  the  cosy  saloon  we  made  short  work  of 
the  coffee  and  the  soles,  the  great  heaps  of  toast,  and  the 
fresh  fruit.  I  could  not  help  some  gloomy  thoughts  as  I 
found  myself  on  my  own  schooner  again,  asking  how  long 
she  would  be  mine,  and  how  I  should  suffer  the  loss  of  her 
when  all  my  money  was  spent.  These  were  cast  off  in  the 
excitement  of  the  chase,  and  came  only  in  the  moments  of 
absolute  calm,  when  all  the  men  aboard  fretted  and  fumed, 
and  every  other  question  was:  "Isn't  it  beginning  to 
blow?" 

The  morning  passed  in  this  way,  a  long  morning,  with 
a  sea  like  a  mirror,  and  the  sun  as  a  great  circle  of  red  fire 
in  the  haze.  Hour  after  hour  we  walked  from  the  fore- 
hatch  to  the  tiller,  from  the  tiller  to  the  fore-hatch,  vary- 
ing the  exercise  with  a  full  inspection  of  every  craft  that 
showed  above  the  horizon.  At  eight  bells  we  lay  a  few 
miles  farther  westward,  the  island  still  visible  to  star- 
board, but  less  distinct.  At  four  bells,  when  we  went  to 
lunch  the  heat  was  terrible  below  and  the  sun  was  terri- 
ble on  deck;  but  yet  there  was  not  a  breeze.  At  six  bells 
some  dark  and  dirty  clouds  rose  up  from  the  south,  and 
twenty  hands  pointed  to  them.  At  "one  bell  in  the  first 
dog''  the  clouds  were  thick,  and  the  sun  was  hidden. 
Half-an-hour  later  there  was  a  shrill  whistling  in  the 
shrouds,  and  the  rain  began  to  patter  on  the  deck,  while 
the  booms  fretted,  and  we  relieved  her  in  part  of  her  press 
of  sail.  When  the  squall  struck  us  at  last,  the  Channel 
was  foaming  with  long  lines  of  choppy  seas;  and  the  sky 
southward  was  dark  as  ink.  But  there  was  only  joy  of  it 
aboard ;  we  stood  gladly  as  the  Celsis  heeled  to  it,  and  ris- 
ing free  as  an  unslipped  hound,  sent  the  spray  flying  in 


38  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

clouds,  and  dipped  her  decks  to  the  foam  which  washed 
her. 

During  one  hour,  when  we  must  have  made  eleven 
knots,  the  wind  blew  strong,  and  was  fresh  again  after 
that;  so  that  we  set  the  foresail  unreefed,  and  let  the  great 
mainsail  go  not  many  minutes  later.  The  swift  motion 
was  an  ecstasy  to  all  of  us,  an  unbounded  delight;  and 
even  the  skipper  softened  as  we  stood  well  out  to  sea,  and 
looked  on  a  great  continent  of  clouds  underlit  with  the 
spreading  glow  of  the  sunset,  their  rain  setting  up  the 
mighty  arched  bow  whose  colours  stood  out  with  a  rich 
light  over  the  wide  expanse  of  the  east.  Nor  did  the 
breeze  fall,  but  stiffened  towards  night,  so  that  in  the 
first  bell,  when  we  came  up  from  dinner,  the  Celsis  was 
straining  and  foaming  as  she  bent  under  her  press  of  can- 
vas, and  it  needed  a  sailor's  foot  to  tread  her  decks.  But 
of  this  no  one  thought,  for  we  had  hardly  come  above 
when  we  heard  Dan  hailing — 

"Yacht  on  the  port  bow." 

"What  name?"  came  from  twenty  throats. 

"La  France,"  said  Dan,  and  the  words  had  scarce  left 
his  lips  when  the  skipper  roared  the  order — 

"Stand  by  to  go  about!" 

For  some  minutes  the  words  "  'bout  ship"  were  not 
spoken.  The  schooner  held  her  course,  and  rapidly  drew 
up  with  the  yacht  we  had  set  out  to  seek.  From  the  first 
there  was  no  doubt  about  her  name,  which  she  displayed 
in  great  letters  of  gold  above  her  figure-head.  Dan  had 
read  them  as  he  sighted  her;  and  we  in  turn  felt  a  thrill 
of  delight  as  we  proved  his  keen  vision,  watching  the  big 
cutter,  for  such  she  was,  heading,  not  for  Plymouth,  but 
for  the  nearer  coast.  But  this  was  not  the  only  strange 
thing  about  her  course,  for  when  she  had  made  some  few 


"  'BOUT  SHIP."  39 

hundred  yards  towards  the  coast,  she  jibbed  round  of  a 
sudden,  with  an  appalling  wrench  at  the  horse ;  and  there 
being,  as  it  appeared,  no  hand  either  at  the  peak  halyards 
or  the  throat  halyards,  the  mainsail  presently  showed  a 
great  rent  near  the  luff,  while  the  foresail  had  torn  free 
from  the  bolt-ropes  of  the  stay,  and  was  presenting  a 
sorry  spectacle  as  the  yacht  went  about,  and  away  towards 
France  again. 

Such  a  display  of  seamanship  astounded  our  men. 

"Close  haul,  you  lubbers;  close  haul!"  roared  Dan,  in 
the  vain  delusion  that  his  voice  would  be  heard  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  away.  "Keep  down  yer  'elm,  and  close  haul — 
wash  me  in  rum  if  he  ain't  comin'  up  again,  and  there  she 
goes,  right  into  it.  Shake  up,  you  gibbering  fools;  luff 
her  a  bit,  and  make  fast.  Did  ye  ever  see  anythin'  like  it 
this  side  of  a  Margit  steamer?" 

The  skipper  said  nothing,  but  as  the  yacht  luffed  right 
up  into  the  wind  again,  he  groaned  as  a  man  who  is  hurt. 
Piping  Jack  looked  sorrowful  too,  and  said,  almost  with 
tears  in  his  eyes — 

"Axing  yer  pardon,  sir,  but  hev  you  got  a  pair  of  eyes 
in  your  head  which  can  make  out  anything  unusual  aboard 
there?" 

"They're  a  queer  lot,  if  that's  what  you  mean,  and  they 
haven't  got  enough  seamanship  amongst  them  to  run  a 
washing-tub.  Is  there  anything  else  you  make  out?" 

"A  good  deal,  sir;  and,  look  you,  there  ain't  a  living 
soul  on  her  deck,  or  may  I  never  see  shore  again." 

"By  all  that's  curious,  you're  right.  There  isn't  a  man 
showing!" 

"  'Bout  ship,"  roared  the  skipper,  and  every  man  ran  to 
his  post,  while  I  touched  Captain  York  on  the  shoulder 
and  pointed  to  the  seemingly  deserted  and  errant  yacht. 


40  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

But  the  skipper's  eyes  were  not  those  of  a  ground-gazer ; 
he  needed  no  aid  from  me;  what  others  had  seen  he  had 
seen,  and  he  nodded  an  affirmative  to  my  unspoken  ques- 
tion. 

"  What  do  you  think  it  means?"  I  asked,  as  we  came  up 
into  the  wind,  and  the  men  were  belaying  after  close 
hauling  for  the  beat;  "are  they  hiding  from  us,  or  is  she 
deserted  ?" 

But  the  only  answer  I  got  was  the  one  word  "Rum,"' 
uttered  with  a  jerky  emphasis,  and  taken  up  by  Dan,  who 
said — 

"Very  rum,  and  a  good  many  drunk  below,  or  I  don't 
know  the  taste  of  it." 

The  obvious  fact  that  the  yacht  we  had  sought  and 
run  down  was  without  living  men  upon  her  decks  had 
taken  the  lilt  from  the  seamen's  merry  tongues,  and  a 
gloom  settled  on  us  all.  Perhaps  it  was  more  than  a  mere 
surmise,  for  an  uncanny  feeling  of  something  dreadful  to 
come  took  hold  of  me,  and  I  feared  that,  finding  the  yacht, 
we  had  also  found  the  devil's  work;  but  I  held  my  peace 
on  that,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  act. 

"Skipper,"  said  I,  "order  a  boat  out;  I'm  going  aboard 
her." 

He  looked  at  me,  and  shook  his  head. 

"When  the  wind  falls,  perhaps;  but  now!"  and  he 
shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Is  there  any  sign  that  the  breeze  will  drop?" 

"None  at  present;  but  I'll  tell  you  more  in  an  hour. 
Meanwhile,"  and  here  he  whispered,  "get  your  pistols  out 
and  say  nothing  to  the  men.  I  shall  follow  her." 

His  advice  was  wise;  and  as  the  dark  began  to  fall  and 
the  night  breeze  to  blow  fresh,  while  the  yacht  ahead  of 
us  swung  here  and  there,  almost  making  circles  about  us, 


RODERICK  HAS  AN  OPINION.  41 

we  hove  to  for  the  time  and  watched  her.  I  begged  Mary 
to  go  below,  but  she  received  the  suggestion  with  merri- 
ment. 

"Go  below,  when  the  men  say  there's  fun  coming! 
Why  should  I  go  below?" 

"Because  it  may  be  serious  fun." 

She  took  my  arm,  and  linking  herself  closely  to  me  as 
to  a  brother,  she  said — 

"Because  there's  danger  to  you  and  to  Roderick;  isn't 
that  it,  Mark?" 

"Not  to  us  any  more  than  to  the  men;  and  there  may 
be  no  danger,  of  course.  It's  only  a  thought  of  mine." 

"And  of  mine  too.  I  shall  stay  where  I  am,  or  Roder- 
ick will  go  to  sleep." 

"What  does  Roderick  say?" 

He  had  joined  us  on  the  starboard  side,  and  was  gazing 
over  the  sea  at  the  pursued  yacht,  which  lay  shaking  dead 
in  the  wind's  eye,  but  Mary's  question  upset  whatever 
speculation  he  had  entered  upon. 

"I've  got  an  opinion,"  he  drawled,  with  a  yawn. 

"You  don't  say  so— " 

"The  wind's  falling,  and  it's  getting  beastly  dark." 

"Two  fairly  obvious  conclusions;  do  you  think  you 
could  keep  sufficiently  awake  to  help  man  the  boat? — in 
another  ten  minutes  we  shall  see  nothing." 

"Do  you  think  I'm  a  fool,  that  I'm  going  to  stop 
here?" 

"Forgive  me,  but  I'm  getting  anxious.  Martin  Hall 
sailed  on  that  yacht ;  and  I  promised  to  help  him — but 
there's  no  need  for  you  to  do  anything,  you  know." 

"No  need  when  you  are  going — pshaw,  I'll  fetch  my 
Colt,  and  Mary  shall  watch  us.  I  don't  think  she  is 
afraid  of  much,  are  you,  Rats?" — he  called  her  "Rats" 


42  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

because  they  were  the  one  thing  on  earth  she  feared — and 
then  he  went  below,  and  I  followed  him,  getting  my  re- 
volver and  my  oilskins,  for  I  knew  that  it  would  be  wet 
work.  I  had  scarce  reached  the  deck  again  when  I  felt 
the  schooner  moving;  but  no  break  of  light  showed  the 
place  where  the  other  was,  and  the  skipper  called  presently 
for  a  blue  flare,  which  cast  a  glowing  light  for  many 
hundred  yards,  and  still  left  us  uncertain. 

" She's  gone,  for  sure,"  said  Dan  to  the  men  around 
him,  for  every  soul  on  board,  even  including  old  Chasselot 
— called  by  the  men  "Cuss-a-lot" — our  cook,  was  staring 
into  the  thick  night;  "and  I  wouldn't  stake  a  noggin  that 
her  crew  ain't  cheated  the  old  un  at  last  an'  gone  down 
singing.  It's  mighty  easy  to  die  with  your  head  full  o' 
rum,  but  I  don't  go  for  to  choose  it  meself,  not  particler." 

Billy  Eightbells,  the  second  mate,  was  quite  of  Dan's 
opinion.  The  looks  of  the  others  told  me  then  that  they 
began  to  fear  the  adventure.  Billy  was  the  first  really  to 
give  expression  to  the  common  sentiment. 

"Making  bold  to  speak,"  he  said,  "it  were  t\vo  years 
ago  come  Christmas  as  I  met  something  like  this  afore, 
down  Rio  way " 

"Was  it  at  eight  bells,  Billy?"  asked  Mary  mischie- 
vously. She  knew  that  all  Billy's  yarns  began  at  eight 
bells.' 

"Well,  I  think  it  were,  mum,  but  as  I  was  saying 

"Flash  again,"  said  the  skipper,  suddenly  interrupting 
the  harangue  and  as  the  blue  light  flashed  we  saw  right 
ahead  of  us  the  wanderer  we  sought ;  but  she  was  bearing 
down  upon  us,  and  there  was  fear  in  the  skipper's  voice 
when  he  roared — 

"For  God's  sake,  hard  a-starboard ! " 

The  helm  went  over,  and  the  yacht  loomed  up  black,  as 


DAN  GOES.  43 

our  own  light  died  away;  and  passed  us  within  a  cable's 
length.  What  lift  of  the  night  there  was  showed  us  her 
decks  again ;  but  they  were  not  deserted,  for  as  one  or  two 
aboard  gave  a  great  cry,  I  saw  the  white  and  horridly 
distorted  face  of  a  man  who  clung  to  the  main  shrouds — 
and  he  alone  was  guardian  of  the  wanderer. 

The  horrid  vision  struck  my  own  men  with  a  deadly 
fearing. 

"May  the  Lord  help  us!"  said  Dan. 

"And  him!"  added  Piping  Jack  solemnly. 

"Was  he  alive,  d'you  think?"  asked  Dan. 

"It's  my  opinion  he'd  seen  something  as  no  Christian 
man  ought  to  see.  Please  God,  we  all  get  to  port  again!" 

"Please  God!"  said  half-a-dozen;  and  their  words  had 
meaning. 

For  myself,  my  thoughts  were  very  different.  That 
vision  of  the  man  I  had  left  well  and  hopeful  and  strong 
not  three  days  since  was  terrible  to  me.  A  brave  man  had 
gone  to  his  death,  but  to  what  a  death,  if  that  agonised 
face  and  distorted  visage  betokened  aught!  And  I  had 
promised  to  aid  him,  and  was  drifting  there  with  the 
schooner,  raising  no  hand  to  give  him  help. 

"Skipper,"  I  cried,  "this  time  we'll  risk  getting  a  boat 
off;  I'm  going  aboard  that  vessel  now,  if  I  drown  before 
I  return."  Then  I  turned  to  the  men,  and  said:  "You 
saw  the  yacht  pass  just  now,  and  you  saw  that  man  aboard 
her — he's  my  friend,  and  I'm  going  to  fetch  him.  Who 
amongst  you  is  coming  with  me?" 

They  hung  back  for  a  moment  before  the  stuff  that  was 
in  them  showed  itself;  then  Dan  lurched  out,  and  said — 

"I  go!" 

Billy  Eightbells   followed. 

"And  I,"  said  he,  "if  it's  the  Old  One  himself." 


44  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SE4. 

"And  I,"  said  Piping  Jack. 

"And  I,"  said  Planks,  the  carpenter. 

"Come  on,  then,  and  take  your  knives  in  your  belts. 
Skipper,  put  about  and  show  another  light." 

He  obeyed  mechanically,  saying  nothing;  but  he  was  a 
brave  man,  I  knew.  It  was  our  luck  to  find  that  the  boat 
went  away  from  the  davits  with  no  more  than  a  couple  ol 
buckets  of  water  in  her;  and  in  two  minutes'  time  the 
men  were  giving  way,  and  we  rose  and  fell  to  the  still 
choppy  sea,  while  the  green  spray  ran  from  our  oilskins 
in  gallons.  In  this  way  we  made  a  couple  of  hundreu 
yards  in  the  direction  we  judged  the  yacht  would  turn, 
and  lit  a  flash.  It  showed  her  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away, 
jibbing  round  and  coming  into  the  wind  again. 

"We  shall  catch  her  on  the  tack  if  she  holds  her 
oearing,"  said  Dan,  "and  be  aboard  in  ten  minutes." 

"What  then?"  said  Billy. 

"Ay,  what  then?"  echoed  the  others. 

"But  it's  a  friend  of  the  guv'nor's,"  repeated  Dan, 
and  he's  in  danger — no  common  danger,  neither.  Please 
God,  we  will  all  get  to  port  again." 

"Please  God!"  they  responded,  and  Roderick,  who  sat 
at  the  tiller  with  me,  whispered — 

"I  never  saw  men  who  liked  a  job  less." 

As  the  good  fellows  gave  way  again,  and  the  boat  rode 
easily  before  the  wind,  I  noticed  for  the  first  time  that 
the  clouds  were  scattering;  and  we  had  not  made  another 
cable's  length  when  a  great  cloud  above  us  showed  silver 
at  its  edges,  and  opaquely  white  in  its  centre,  through 
which  the  moon  shone.  Anon  it  dissolved,  and  the  trans- 
formation on  the  surface  of  the  water  was  a  transforma- 
tion from  the  dark  of  storm  to  the  chrome  light  of  a  sum- 


<A  TERRIBLE  SIGHT.  45 

mer  moon.  There,  around  us,  the  panorama  stretched 
out:  the  sea,  white-waved  and  rolling;  the  lights  of  a 
steamer  to  port;  of  a  couple  of  sailing  vessels  astern;  of  a 
fishing  fleet  away  ahead,  and  nearer  to  the  shore.  But 
these  we  had  no  thought  for,  since  the  deserted  yacht  wa3 
beating  up  to  us,  and  we  stood  right  in  her  track. 

"Get  a  grapnel  forward,  and  look  out  there,"  cried 
Dan,  who  was  in  command ;  and  Billy  stood  ready,  while 
we  could  hear  the  swish  of  the  waves  against  the  cutter's 
bows,  and  every  man  instinctively  put  his  hand  on  his 
pistol  or  his  knife. 

As  if  to  help  us,  the  wind  fell  away  as  the  schooner 
came  up,  and  she  began  to  shake  her  sails ;  making  no  way 
as  she  headed  almost  due  east.  It  seemed  a  fit  moment 
for  effort,  and  Dan  had  just  sung  out  "Give  way,"  when 
every  man  who  had  gripped  an  oar  let  go  the  handle  again 
and  sat  with  horror  writ  on  his  countenance.  For,  al- 
most with  the  words  of  the  order,  there  wras  the  sound  as 
of  fierce  contest,  of  the  bursting  of  wood,  and  the  spread 
of  flame;  and  in  that  instant  the  decks  of  the  yacht  were 
ripped  up,  and  sheets  of  fire  rose  from  them  to  the  rigging 
above.  The  light  of  this  mighty  flare  spread  instantly  over 
the  sea  about  her,  and  far  away  you  could  look  on  the  roll- 
ing waves,  red  as  waves  of  fire.  A  terrible  sight  it  was, 
and  terrible  sounds  were  those  of  the  wood  rending  with 
the  heat,  of  the  stays  snapping  and  flying,  of  the  hissing 
of  the  flame  where  it  met  the  water.  But  it  was  a  sight 
of  infinite  horror  to  us,  because  we  knew  that  one  who 
might  yet  live  was  a  prisoner  of  the  conflagration — the 
one  passenger,  as  it  seemed  then,  of  the  vessel  which  was 
doomed. 

"Give  way,"  roared  Dan  again,  for  the  men  sat  motion- 


46  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

less  with  terror.  "Are  you  going  to  let  him  burn?  May 
God  have  mercy  on  him,  for  he  needs  mercy!" 

The  words  awed  them.  They  shot  the  long-boat  for- 
ward ;  and  I  stood  in  her  stern  to  observe,  if  I  could,  what 
passed  on  the  burning  decks.  And  I  saw  a  sight  the  like 
to  which  I  pray  that  I  may  never  see  again.  Martin  Hall 
stood  at  the  main  shrouds,  motionless,  volumes  of  flame 
around  him,  his  figure  clear  to  be  viewed  by  that  awful 
beacon. 

"Why  doesn't  he  jump  it?"  I  called  aloud.  "If  he 
can't  swim,  he  could  keep  above  until  we're  alongside;" 
and  then  I  roared  "Ahoy!"  and  every  man  repeated  the 
cry,  calling  "Ahoy!"  each  time  he  bent  to  his  oar,  his 
voice  hoarse  with  excitement.  But  Martin  Hall  never 
moved,  his  gaunt  figure  was  motionless — the  flames  beat 
upon  it,  it  did  not  stir;  and  we  drew  near  enough  anon 
and  knew  the  worst. 

"Devils'  work,  devils'  work!"  said  Dan;  "he's  lashed 
there — and  he's  dead!"  But  the  men  still  cried  "Ahoy!" 
as  they  rushed  their  oars  through  the  water,  and  were  as 
those  mad  with  fiery  drink. 

"Easy!"  roared  Dan.  "Easy,  for  a  parcel  of  stark 
fools!  Would  you  run  alongside  her?" 

There  they  lay,  for  any  nearer  approach  would  have 
been  perilous,  and  even  in  that  place  where  we  were, 
twenty  feet  on  the  windward  side,  the  heat  was  nigh  un- 
bearable. So  near  were  we  that  I  looked  close  as  it  might 
be  into  the  dead  face  of  Martin  Hall,  and  saw  that  the 
fiends  who  had  lashed  him  there  had  done  their  work  too 
well.  But  I  hoped  in  my  heart  that  he  had  been  dead 
when  the  end  of  the  ship  had  begun  to  come,  and  that  it 
were  no  reproach  to  me  that  he  had  perished :  for  to  save 
his  body  from  that  holocaust  was  work  no  man  might  do. 


A  MESSAGE  FROM  THE  DEAD.          47 

i 

So  did  we  watch  the  mounting  fire,  and  the  last  tack 
of  the  yacht  La  France.  Saucily  she  raised  her  head  to  a 
new  breeze,  shook  her  great  sail  of  flame  in  the  night,  and 
scattered  red  light  about  her.  Then  she  dipped  her  burn- 
ing jib  as  if  in  salute,  and  there  was  darkness. 

"Rest  to  a  good  ship,"  said  Dan,  in  melancholy  mood; 
but  I  said — 

"Rest  to  a  friend."  I  had  known  the  man  whose  death 
had  come ;  and  when  his  body  went  below,  I  hungered  for 
the  grip  of  the  hand  which  was  then  washed  by  the  Chan- 
nel waves. 

"Give  way,"  I  cried  to  the  men,  who  sat  silent  in  their 
fear  of  it,  and  when  they  rowed  again  they  cried  as  before, 
"Ahoy!"  so  strong  and  vivid  was  the  picture  which  the 
sea  had  then  put  out. 

As  we  neared  our  own  ship,  Roderick  endeavored  to 
speak  to  me,  but  his  voice  failed,  and  he  took  my  hand, 
giving  it  a  great  grip.  Then  we  came  aboard,  where 
Mary  waited  for  us  with  a  white  face,  and  the  others 
stood  silent;  but  we  said  nothing  to  them,  going  below. 
There  I  locked  myself  in  my  own  cabin,  and  though 
fatigue  lay  heavy  on  me,  and  my  eyes  were  clouded  with 
the  touch  of  sleep,  I  took  Martin  Hall's  papers  from  my 
locker,  and  lighted  the  lamp  to  read  them  through. 

But  not  without  awe,  for  they  were  a  message  from 
the  dead. 


48 
CHAPTER  V. 

THE   WRITING  OF   MARTIN    HALL. 

THE  manuscript  which  was  sealed  on  its  cover  in  many 
places,  consisted  of  several  pages  of  close  writing,  and  of 
sketches  and  scraps  from  newspapers — Italian,  French, 
and  English.  The  sketches  I  looked  at  first,  and  was  not  a 
little  surprised  to  see  that  one  of  them  was  the  portrait 
of  the  man  known  as  "Roaring  John,"  whom  I  had  met 
at  Paris  in  the  strange  company;  while  there  was  with 
this  a  blurred  and  faint  outline  of  the  features  of  the  sea- 
man called  "Four-Eyes,"  who  had  come  to  me  at  the 
Hotel  Scribe  with  the  bidding  to  go  aboard  La  France. 
But  what,  perhaps,  was  even  more  difficult  to  be  under- 
stood was  the  picture  of  the  great  hull  of  what  I  judged 
to  be  a  warship,  showing  her  a-building,  with  the  work 
yet  progressing  on  her  decks.  The  newspaper  cuttings 
I  deemed  to  be  in  some  part  an  explanation  of  these 
sketches,  for  one  of  them  gave  a  description  of  a  very 
noteworthy  battle-ship^  constructed  for  a  South  American 
Republic,  but  in  much  secrecy;  while  another  hinted  that 
great  pains  had  been  taken  with  the  vessel,  which  was 
built  at  a  mighty  cost,  and  on  so  new  a  plan  that  the 
shipwrights  refused  to  give  information  concerning  her 
until  she  had  been  some  months  at  sea  to  prove  her. 

All  this  reading  remained  enigmatical,  of  course,  and 
as  I  could  make  nothing  of  it  to  connect  it  with  the  events 
I  have  narrated,  I  went  on  to  the  writing,  which  was  fine 
and  small,  as  the  writing  of  an  exact  man.  And  the 
words  upon  the  head  of  it  were  these: — 


BY  WAY  OF  PREFACE.  49 

SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  A  NAMELESS  WARSHIP. 

OF  HER  CREW,  AND  HER  PURPOSE. 

Written  for  the  eyes  of  Mark  Strong,  by  Martin  Hall, 
sometime  his  friend. 

I  put  from  me  the  sorrow  of  the  thought  which  the 
last  three  words  brought  to  me,  and  read  therefrom  this 
history,  which  had  these  few  sentences  as  its  preface: — 

"You  read  these  words,  Mark  Strong-,  when  I  am  dead; 
and  I  would  ask  you  before  you  go  further  with  them  to 
consider  well  if  you  would  wish,  or  have  inclination  for, 
a  pursuit  in  which  I  have  lost  all  that  a  man  can  lose, 
and  in  which  your  risk,  do  you  take  the  work  upon  you, 
will  be  no  less  than  mine  was.  For  if  you  read  what  is 
written  here,  and  have  in  you  that  stuff  which  cannot 
brook  mystery,  and  is  fired  when  mystery  also  is  danger, 
I  know  that  you  will  venture  upon  this  undertaking  at 
the  point  where  death  has  held  my  hand;  and  that  by  so 
doing  you  may  reap  where  I  have  sown.  And  with  this, 
think  nor  act  in  any  haste  lest  you  lay  to  my  charge  that 
which  may  befall  you  in  the  pursuit  you  are  about  to 
uegin." 

I  read  on,  for  the  desire  to  do  justice  to  Martin  Hall 
was  strong  upon  me  at  the  very  beginning  of  it. 

From  that  place  the  story  was  in  great  part  autobio- 
graphical, but  in  no  sense  egotistical.  It  was,  as  you  shall 
see,  the  simple  narration  of  a  man  sincere  in  his  dreaming, 
if  he  did  dream ;  logical  in  his  madness,  if  he  were  mad. 
And  this  was  his  story  as  first  I  read  it: — 

"  Having  well  considered  the  warning  which  is  the  su- 
perscription of  this  record,  you  have  determined  to  con- 
tinue this  narrative,  I  do  not  doubt;  for  I  judge  you  to  be 
a  man  who,  having  tasted  the  succulent  dish  of  curiosity, 
will  not  put  it  away  from  you  until  you  have  eaten  your 
fill.  I  will  tell  you,  therefore,  such  a  part  of  my  life  as 
you  should  know  when  you  come  to  ask  yourself  the  ques- 


50  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

tion,  'Is  this  man  a  fool  or  an  imbecile,  a  crack-brained 
faddist  or  the  victim  of  hallucination?'  This  question 
should  arise  at  a  later  stage,  and  I  beg  you  not  to  put  it 
until  you  have  read  every  word  that  I  have  written  here. 

"I  was  born  in  Liverpool,  thirty-three  years  ago,  and 
was  educated  for  a  few  years  at  the  well-known  institute 
in  that  city.  They  taught  me  there  that  consciousness  of 
ignorance  which  is  half  an  education ;  and  being  the  son  of 
a  man  who  starved  on  a  fine  ability  for  modelling  things 
in  clay,  and  plaster-moulding,  I  went  out  presently  to 
make  my  living.  First  to  America,  you  doubt  not,  to  get 
the  experience  of  coming  home  again;  then  to  the  Cape, 
to  watch  other  men  dig  diamonds;  to  Rome,  to  Naples,  to 
Genoa,  that  I  might  know  what  it  was  to  want  food ;  to 
South  America  as  an  able  seaman ;  to  Australia  in  the 
stoke-hole  of  a  South  Sea  liner;  home  again  to  my  poor 
father,  who  lay  dead  when  I  reached  Liverpool. 

"I  was  twenty-two  years  old  then,  and  glutted  with 
life.  I  had  no  relation  living  that  I  knew  of;  no  friend 
who  was  not  also  a  plain  acquaintance.  By  what  chance  it 
was  I  cannot  tell,  but  I  drifted  like  a  living  log  into  the 
detective  force  of  my  city,  and  after  working  up  for  a  few 
years  through  the  grades,  they  put  me  on  the  landing- 
stage  at  Liverpool,  to  watch  for  men  who  wished  to  emi- 
grate because  they  had  no  opinion  of  the  police  force  here. 
It  was  miserable  employment,  but  educating,  for  it  taught 
me  to  read  faces  that  were  disguised,  old  men  become 
beardless,  young  men  made  old  at  the  touch  ot  a  coiffeur. 
I  suppose  I  had  more  than  common  success,  for  when  I 
had  been  so  employed  for  five  years  I  was  sent  to  London 
by  our  people,  and  there  commanded  to  go  to  the  Admir- 
alty and  get  new  instructions.  Regard  this,  please,  as  the 


WHERE  THE  VINE  MATURES.  51 

first  mark  in  this  record  I  am  making.  Of  my  work  for 
our  own  people  I  may  not  tell  even  you,  since  I  engaged 
upon  it  under  solemn  bond  of  secrecy;  but  I  can  indicate 
that  I  was  sent  to  Italy  to  pick  up  facts  in  the  dockyards 
there,  and  that  our  people  relied  on  my  gifts  of  disguise, 
and  on  my  knowledge  of  Italian,  learnt  upon  Italian  ships 
and  in  Italian  ports.  In  short,  I  was  expected  to  provide 
plans  and  accounts  of  many  things  material  to  our  own 
service,  and  I  entered  on  the  business  with  alacrity,  gained 
admittance  to  the  public  dockyards,  and  knew  in  a  twelve- 
month all  that  any  man  could  learn  who  had  his  wits 
only  to  guide  him,  and  as  much  of  those  of  other  men  as 
he  could  pick  up. 

"But  I  imagine  your  natural  impatience,  and  your 
mental  exclamation,  'What  has  all  this  rigmarole  to  do 
with  me — how  does  it  affect  this  pretended  narrative?' 
Bear  with  me  a  moment  wlien  I  tell  you  that  it  is  vital  to 
my  story.  It  was  in  Italy  during  my  second  year  of  work 
that  I  had  cause  to  be  at  Spezia,  inspecting  there  a  new 
type  of  gun-boat  about  which  there  was  much  talk  and 
many  opinions.  I  have  no  need  to  tell  you,  w-ho  have  not 
the  bombastic  knowledge  of  a  one-city  man,  that  at  Spezia 
is  to  be  found  all  that  is  great  in  the  naval  life  of  Italy ; 
on  the  grand  forts  of  the  bay  which  received  the  ashes  of 
Shelley  are  her  finest  guns;  on  the  glorious  hills  which 
arise  above  her  limpid  blue  waters  are  her  chief  fortifica- 
tions. There,  at  the  feet  of  the  hills  where  grows  the 
olive,  and  where  the  vine  matures  to  luxurious  growth, 
you  will  find  in  juxtaposition  with  Nature's  emblems  of 
peace  the  storehouses  of  the  shot  and  shell  which  one  day 
shall  sow  the  sea  and  the  land  with  blood.  Amongst 
these  fortifications,  amidst  these  adamantine  terraces  and 


52  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

turrets  my  work  lay;  but  the  most  part  of  it  was  done  in 
the  dockyards,  both  in  the  yards  which  were  the  property 
of  the  Government  and  in  the  private  yards.  My  recrea- 
tion was  a  rare  cruise  to  the  lovely  gulfs  which  the  bay 
embosoms,  to  the  Casa  di  Mare,  to  Fezzano,  to  the  Tem- 
ple of  Vrenus  at  the  Porto  Venere ;  or  a  walk  when  there 
was  golden-red  light  on  the  clustering  vines,  and  the 
Apennines  were  capped  with  the  spreading  fire  which  falls 
on  them  when  the  sun  passes  low  at  twilight.  Many  an 
hour  I  stood  above  the  old  town,  asking,  why  a  common 
cheat  of  a  spy,  as  I  reckoned  myself,  should  presume  to 
find  other  thoughts  when  breathing  that  air  laden  of  soli- 
tude; but  they  came  to  me  whether  I  would  or  no;  and 
it  was  often  on  my  mind  to  throw  over  the  whole  business 
of  prying ;  and  to  set  out  on  a  work  which  should  achieve 
something,  if  only  a  little,  for  humanity.  That  I  did  not 
follow  this  impulse,  which  grew  upon  me  from  day  to 
day,  is  to  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  one  of  those  very  walks 
upon  the  hill-side  about  which  I  have  been  telling  you.  It 
was  an  evening  late  in  the  year,  and  the  sun  was  just  set- 
ting. I  watched  the  changing  hues  of  the  peaks  as  the 
light  spread  from  point  to  point;  watched  it  reddening 
the  sea,  and  leaving  it  black  in  the  shadows;  watched  it 
upon  the  church  spires  of  Spezia,  upon  the  castle  roof, 
upon  the  steel  hulls  of  great  ships.  And  then  I  saw  a 
strange  thing,  for  amongst  all  the  vessels  which  were  so 
burnished  by  the  invisible  hand  of  Heaven,  I  saw  one  that 
stood  out  beyond  them  all,  a  great  globe,  not  of  silver,  but 
of  golden  fire.  There  was  no  doubt  about  it  at  all ;  I 
rubbed  my  eyes,  I  used  the  glass  I  always  carried  with  me ; 
I  viewed  the  hull  I  saw  lying  there  from  half-a-dozen 
heiehts;  and  I  was  sure  that  what  I  saw  was  no  effect  of 
evening  light  or  strange  refraction.  The  ship  I  looked  on 


A  SHIP  OF  GOLD.  53 

was  built  either  of  brass,  or  of  some  alloy  of  brass,  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  for  the  notion  that  she  could  be  plated  with 
gold  was  preposterous;  and  yet  the  more  I  examined  her, 
the  more  clearly  did  I  make  out  that  her  hull  was  con- 
structed of  a  metal  infinitely  gold-like,  and  of  so  beau- 
tiful a  colour  in  the  reddened  stream  which  shone  upon  it 
that  the  whole  ship  had  the  aspect  of  a  mirror  of  the 
purest  gold  I  had  ever  seen. 

"The  sudden  fading  of  the  light  behind  the  hills  shut 
the  vision — I  could  not  call  it  less — from  my  eyes.  The 
dark  fell,  and  the  vines  rustled  with  the  cold  coming  of 
night.  I  returned  to  the  town  quickly,  and  neglecting  any 
thought  of  dinner,  I  went  straight  to  the  sea-front  and 
began,  if  I  could,  to  find  where  the  water  lay  wherein  this 
extraordinary  steamer  was  docked.  I  had  taken  the  bear- 
ings of  it  from  the  hills,  and  I  was  very  quickly  at  that 
spot  where  I  thought  to  have  seen  the  strange  vessel. 
There,  truly  enough,  was  a  dock  in  which  two  small  coast- 
ing steamers  were  moored,  but  of  a  sign  of  that  which  I 
sought  there  was  none.  I  should  have  had  the  matter  out 
there  and  then,  searching  the  place  to  its  extremity;  but  I 
had  not  been  at  my  work  ten  minutes  when  I  knew  that  I 
was  watched.  A  man,  dressed  as  a  rough  sailor,  and  re- 
markable for  the  hideousness  of  his  face  and  a  curious 
malformation  of  one  tooth,  lurked  behind  the  heaps  of  sea- 
lumber,  and  followed  me  from  point  to  point.  I  did  not 
care  to  have  any  altercation,  so  I  left  the  matter  there; 
but,  being  determined  to  probe  the  mystery  to  the  very 
bottom,  I  returned  in  a  good  disguise  of  a  common  Eng- 
lish seaman  on  the  following  evening,  and  again  entered 
the  dockyard.  The  same  man  was  watching,  but  he  had 
no  suspicion  of  me. 


54  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"  'Any  job  going?'  I  asked,  and  the  question  seemed  to 
interest  him. 

"  'I  reckon  that  depends  on  the  man,'  he  replied,  stick- 
ing his  hands  deep  into  his  pockets,  and  squirting  his  filthy 
tobacco  all  over  the  timber  about.  'What's  a  little  wizen 
chap  like  you  good  for,  except  to  get  yer  neck  broken  ?' 

"  'All  in  my  line,'  I  answered  jauntily,  having  fixed  my 
plan ;  'I'm  starving  amongst  these  cursed  cut-throats  here, 
and  I'm  ready  for  anything.' 

"'Starving,  are  you!  Then  blarm  me  if  you  shan't 
earn  your  supper.  D'y'see  that  four  feet  of  bullock's  fat 
and  nigger  working  at  them  iron  pins  in  the  far  corner?' 
— he  pointed  to  a  thick-set,  dark  and  burly  seaman  work- 
ing in  the  way  he  had  described — 'go  and  stick  yer  knife 
in  him,  and  I'm  good  for  a  bottle — two,  if  you  like,  you 
darned  little  shootin'  rat  of  a  man;'  and  he  clutched  me 
with  his  great  paw  and  shook  me  until  my  teeth  chattered 
again.  But  his  look  was  full  of  meaning,  and  I  believe 
that  he  wished  every  word  he  said. 

"  'Stick  your  knife  into  the  man  yourself,'  I  replied, 
when  I  was  free  of  him,  'you  great  Yankee  lubber — for 
another  word  I'd  give  you  a  taste  of  mine  now.' 

"He  looked  at  me  as  I  stood  making  this  poor  mock  of 
a  threat,  and  laughed  till  he  rang  up  the  hill-sides.  Then 
he  said — 

"  'You're  my  sort ;  I  reckon  I  know  your  flag.  Out 
with  it,  and  we'll  pour  liquor  on  it,  I  guess;  for  there 
ain't  no  foolin'  you — no,  by  thunder!  You're  just  a  daisy 
of  a  man,  you  are;  so  come  along  and  let  the  nigger  be. 
As  for  hurtin'  of  'im— why,  so  help  me  blazes,  he's  my 
pard,  he  is,  and  I  love  him  like  my  own  little  brother 
what  died  of  lead-poisonin'  down  Sint  .Louis  way.  You 


ROARING  JOHN.  55 

come  along,  you  little  cuss,  and  see  if  I  don't  make  you 
dance — oh  I  reckon!' 

"I  take  these  words  from  my  note-book,  and  write 
them  out  for  you,  to  give  you  some  idea  of  the  class  of 
man  I  met  with  first  on  this  adventure.  More  of  his  nice 
language  I  do  not  intend  to  trouble  you  with;  but  will 
say  that  I  drank  with  him,  and  later  on  with  his  com- 
panions, about  as  fine  a  dozen  of  self-stamped  rascals  33 
ever  I  wish  to  see.  Next  day,  I  came  again  to  the  dock- 
yard, for  the  conversation  of  the  previous  evening  had 
convinced  me  beyond  doubt  that  I  was  at  the  foot  of  a 
mystery,  and,  to  my  delight,  I  got  employment  from  the 
chief  of  the  gang,  named  'Roaring  John'  by  his  friends; 
and  was  soon  at  work  on  the  simple  and  matter-of-fact 
business  of  cutting  planks.  This  gave  me  an  entry  to  the 
dockyard — all  I  wished  at  the  moment. 

"Now,  you  may  ask,  'Why  did  you  take  the  trouble  to 
do  all  this  from  the  mere  motive  of  curiosity  engendered 
by  the  strange  ship  you  thought  you  saw  from  the  hills?' 
I  will  tell  you  briefly.  The  fact  of  my  being  watched 
when  I  entered  the  dock  convinced  me  that  there  was 
something  there  which  no  stranger  might  see.  That 
which  no  stranger  may  see  in  a  foreign  yard  spells  also 
the  word  money.  If  there  was  any  information  to  be  got 
in  that  dock,  I  could  sell  it  to  my  own  Government,  or 
to  the  first  Government  in  Europe  I  chose  to  haggle  with. 
This  reason  alone  made  me  a  hewer  of  wood  amongst 
foul-mouthed  companions,  a  tar-bedaubed  loafer  in  a 
crew  of  loafers. 

"You  see  me,  then,  at  the  stage  when  I  had  got  ad- 
mission to  the  dock,  but  had  learnt  nothing  of  the  vessel. 
It  is  true  that  I  was  admitted  only  to  the  outer  basin, 
where  the  coasting  steamers  lay,  and  that  the  man  'Roar- 


56  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

ing  John'  threatened  me  with  all  the  curses  he  could  com- 
mand if  I  passed  the  gate  which  opened  into  the  dock  be- 
yond ;  but  such  threats  to  a  man  whose  business  it  was  to 
lay  bare  mystery  had  no  more  effect  on  me  than  the  bray- 
ing of  an  ass  in  a  field  of  clover.  Minute  by  minute  and 
hour  by  hour,  I  waited  my  opportunity.  It  came  to  me 
on  the  morning  of  the  eighth  day,  when,  in  the  poor  hope 
of  getting  something  by  the  loss  of  sleep,  I  reached  the 
yard  at  four  o'clock;  and  the  gate  being  unopen,  I  lurked 
in  hiding  until  the  first  man  should  come.  He  was  no 
other  than  the  one  who  had  engaged  me ;  and  when  he 
had  gone  in,  about  five  minutes  after  I  had  come,  he  did 
not  close  the  second  door  after  him,  there  being  no  men 
then  at  their  work.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  used  my 
eyes  well  in  those  minutes,  and  while  he  was  away — this 
was  no  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour — I  had  seen  all  I 
wished  to  see.  There,  sure  enough,  lay  the  most  remark- 
able war-ship  I  had  ever  beheld — a  great,  well-armed 
cruiser,  whose  decks  were  bright  with  quick-firing  guns, 
whose  lines  showed  novelty  in  every  inch  of  them.  More 
remarkable  than  anything,  however,  was  the  confirmation 
of  that  which  I  had  seen  from  the  hill.  The  ship,  seem- 
ingly, was  built  of  the  purest  gold.  This,  of  course,  I 
knew  could  not  be;  but  as  the  sun  got  up  and  his  light 
fell  on  the  vessel,  I  thought  that  I  had  never  seen  a  more 
glorious  sight.  She  shone  with  the  refulgent  beauty  of  a 
thousand  mirrors;  every  foot  of  her  deck,  of  her  turrets, 
of  her  upper  house  made  a  sheen  of  dazzling  fire;  the 
points  of  her  deck  lights  were  as  beacons,  all  lurid  and 
a-gold.  So  marvellous,  truly,  was  her  aspect,  that  I  for- 
got all  else  but  it,  and  stood  entranced,  marvelling,  for- 
getful of  myself  and  purpose.  The  flash  of  a  knife  in  the 


A  BAD  MISHAP.  57 

air  and  a  fearful  oath  brought  me  to  my  senses  to  know 
that  I  \vas  in  the  grasp  of  the  man  'Roaring  John.' 

"  'Curse  you  for  a  small-eyed  cheat!  what  are  you  do- 
ing here?'  he  asked,  shaking  me  and  threatening  every 
minute  to  let  me  feel  his  steel ;  'what  are  you  doing  here, 
you  little  cat  of  a  man?  Spit  it  out,  or  I'm  darned  if  I 
don't  spit  you;  oh,  I  guess!' 

"I  should  have  made  some  answer  in  the  rough  voice  I 
always  put  on  in  this  undertaking,  but  a  bad  mishap  befell 
me.  The  best  of  my  disguise  was  the  thick,  bushy  black 
hair  I  wore  about  my  face.  As  the  ruffian  went  to  take  a 
firmer  hold  of  my  collar,  he  pulled  aside  a  portion  of  my 
beard,  and  left  my  chin  clean-shaven  beneath  as  naturally 
it  was.  The  intense  surprise  of  this  discovery  seemed  to 
hit  him  like  a  blow.  He  stepped  back  with  a  murderous 
look  in  his  eyes — a  look  which  meant  that,  if  I  stayed 
there  to  deal  with  him  alone,  I  had  not  another  minute  to 
live.  But  I  cheated  him  again,  and,  turning  on  my  heel, 
I  fled  with  all  the  speed  I  possessed,  and  got  into  the 
street  with  twenty  ruffians  at  my  heels,  and  a  hue  and 
cry  such  as  I  hope  never  to  hear  again. 

"The  escape  was  clever,  but  I  reached  my  hotel  and 
sat  down  to  find  expressions  equal  in  power  to  my  folly. 
The  thought  that  I,  who  was  a  vulgar  spy  by  profession, 
had  committed  a  mistake  worthy  of  a  novelist's  policeman, 
was  gall  and  wormwood  to  me.  Yet  I  was  sure  that  I 
had  cut  off  all  hope  of  returning  to  the  yard;  and  what 
information  I  was  to  get  must  come  by  other  modes.  The 
nature  of  these  I  knew  not,  but  I  was  determined  to  set 
out  upon  a  visit  to  Signer  Vezzia,  who  was  the  builder  to 
whom  the  docks  wherein  I  worked  belonged.  To  him  I 
came  as  the  pretended  agent  of  a  shipping  firm  in  New 
York,  with  whom  I  had  some  little  acquaintance,  and  he 


58  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

gave  me  audience  readily.  He  was  very  willing  to  hear 
me  when  he  learnt  that  I  was  in  quest  of  a  builder  to 
lay  down  steamers  for  the  American  trade  with  Italy; 
and  some  while  we  passed  in  great  cordiality,  so  ripe  on 
his  part  that  I  ventured  the  other  business. 

"  'By-the-by,  Signer  Vezzia,  that's  a  marvellous  battle- 
ship you  have  in  your  second  dock ;  I  have  never  seen  any- 
thing like  her  before.' 

"I  spoke  the  words,  and  read  him  as  one  reads  a 
barometer.  He  shrank  visibly  into  his  bulb,  and  the  tone 
of  his  conversation  marked  a  storm.  I  heard  him  mutter 
'Diavolo!'  under  his  breath,  and  then  the  mercury  of  his 
conversation  mounted  quickly. 

'  'Yes,  yes ;  a  curious  vessel,  quite  a  special  thing,  for 
a  South  American  Republic,  an  idea  of  theirs — but  you 
will  extend  me  the  favour  of  your  pardon,  I  am  busy' — 
and  in  his  excitement  he  put  his  spectacles  off  and  on,  and 
called  'Giovanni,  Giovanni !'  to  his  head  clerk,  who  made 
business  to  be  rid  of  me.  Clearly,  as  a  piece  in  the  game 
I  was  playing,  Signer  Vezzia  had  made  his  solitary  move. 
He  was  no  more  upon  my  board,  miserably  void  as  it  was, 
and  in  despair  I  mounted  to  my  hill-top  again ;  and  spent 
the  morning  where  the  vines  grew,  looking  down  upon  the 
golden  ship  which  was  built  for  'a  South  American  Re- 
public.' That  tale  I  never  believed,  for  the  man's  face 
marked  it  a  lie  as  he  gave  it  to  me;  but  the  mere  telling 
of  it  added  piquancy  to  the  dish  I  had  tasted  of,  and  I 
resolved  in  that  hour  to  devote  myself  heart  and  soul  to 
the  work  of  unravelling  the  slender  threads,  even  if  I  lost 
my  common  employment  in  the  business.  The  reverie 
held  me  long.  I  was  roused  from  it  by  the  sight  of  a  dull 
vapour  mounting  from  the  funnel  of  the  nameless  ship. 
She  was  going  to  sail  then — at  the  next  tide  she  might 


A  STAGE  OF  THE  PROBLEM.  59 

leave  Spezia,  and  there  would  be  no  more  hope.  I  threw 
a  word  at  my  dreaming,  and  hurried  from  the  vines  to 
my  hotel  in  the  town  below. 

"Now  you  may  form  opinion  that  my  prospects  in  this 
abstruse  and  perplexing  chase  were  not  at  that  time  much 
to  vaunt.  My  theories  and  my  acts  had  led  me  into  a 
mental  cul-de-sac,  a  blind  alley,  where,  in  the  lack  of  exit, 
I  took  hold  of  every  straw  that  the  wind  of  thought  set 
flying.  Here  was  the  problem  at  this  stage  as  it  then  ap- 
peared to  me: — Item  (i)  :  A  ship  built  of  some  metal  I 
had  no  knowledge  of.  Item  (2)  :  A  ship  that  shone  like 
a  rich  sunset  on  a  garden  lake.  Item  (3) :  A  ship  that 
was  armed  to  the  full,  as  a  casual  glance  told  me,  with 
every  kind  of  quick-firing  guns,  and  with  two  ten-inch 
guns  in  her  turret.  Item  (4)  :  A  ruffianly  blackguard, 
to  whom  the  cutting  of  a  throat  seemed  meat  and  drink, 
with  ten  other  rogues  no  less  deserving,  from  a  murderous 
point  of  view,  put  to  watch  about  the  ship  that  no  strange 
eye  might  look  upon  her.  Item  (5)  :  The  confusion  of 
Signer  Vezzia,  who  made  a  fine  tale  and  said  at  the  same 
time  with  his  eyes  'This  is  a  lie,  and  a  bad  one ;  I'm  sorry 
that  I  have  nothing  better  ready.'  Item  (6)  :  My  own 
adamantine  conviction  that  I  stood  near  by  some  mystery, 
which  was  about  to  be  a  big  mystery,  and  which  would 
pay  me  to  pursue.  'A  fine  bundle  of  nonsense,'  I  hear  you 
say;  'as  silly  a  flight  of  a  vaporous  brain  as  ever  man 
conceived' — but  stay  your  words  awhile;  remember,  that 
one  who  is  bred  up  at  the  keyhole  lets  himself,  if  he  be 
wise,  be  moved  by  his  impulses  and  first  opinions.  He 
does  not  quit  them  until  he  knows  them  to  be  false.  In- 
stinct told  me  to  go  on  in  this  work,  if  I  lost  all  other, 
if  I  starved,  if  I  drowned,  if  I  died  at  it.  And  to  go 
on  I  meant. 


60  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"This  was  my  musing  at  the  Albergo,  and  when  it  \... . 
over  I  laughed  aloud  at  its  quixotic  folly.  'Oh,  poc: 
fool,'  I  said,  'miserable,  brain-blinded,  groping  fool,  to 
talk  of  going  on  when  the  ship  sails  this  night,  this  very 
night;  and  unless  you  put  agents  on  in  every  part  of  t!u 
globe,  you  will  never  hear  of  her  again.  What  a  fine 
piece  of  dreamer's  wit  is  yours!  what  a  bar-parlour  yarn 
to  tell  rustics  in  Somerset!  Get  up,  and  mind  your  own 
business,  go  on  with  your  common  labour,  and  let  the 
ship  and  her  crew  go  to  the  devil  if  they  like.'  For  the 
matter  of  that,  this  advice  perforce  I  had  to  follow,  for  I 
did  not  possess  one  single  clue  at  that  moment;  and  al- 
though I  racked  my  brain  for  one  all  the  afternoon,  and 
went  often  to  the  hill-top  to  see  if  the  nameless  ship  yet 
lay  in  the  dock,  I  could  pick  up  no  new  thread,  nor  light 
upon  any  infinitesimal  vein  of  material.  The  very  want 
of  a  point  d'appui  irritated  a  brain  already  excited  to  a 
fine  condition  of  unrest.  Any  hour  the  ship  might  sail ; 
any  hour  something  which  would  give  me  the  name  of  her 
owner  might  come  to  me — but  the  hours  went  on  and 
nothing  came.  I  dined,  and  was  no  step  advanced ;  I 
smoked  cigars  in  three  cafes,  and  was  again  at  the  begin- 
ning; I  visited  half-a-dozen  folk  I  knew,  and  drew  no 
word  to  help  me.  At  last,  mocking  the  whole  mystery 
with  a  fine  English  phrase,  I  said,  'Let  her  go;'  and  I 
returned  to  the  Albergo  and  to  bed.  I  had  hunted  a 
marine  covert  for  two  days  and  had  drawn  blank. 

"I  have  said  that  I  went  to  bed,  but  it  was  a  poor  folly 
of  a  process,  you  do  not  doubt.  I  lay  down,  indeed,  and 
read  Poe's  tales,  which  I  love,  an  hour  or  more;  then  I 
went  over  the  whole  business  again,  raised  every  point; 
made  my  brain  aflame  with  speculation ;  put  out  the 
candle;  lit  it  again;  read  more  mystery;  held  out  the 


THE  SURGING  OF  THE  VOICE.  61 

hand  to  sleep ;  told  sleep  I  did  not  want  her.  You  who 
know  me  will  know  also  how  useless  are  such  gamings  of 
man  with  Nature.  I  could  not  have  slept  if  a  king's 
ransom  went  with  the  sleeping;  and  so  I  lay  fretful, 
blameful,  scolding  myself,  condoling  with  myself,  vowing 
the  whole  problem  a  plague  and  a  cheat.  This  idle  wan- 
dering might  have  lasted  until  dawn,  had  it  not  been  for 
my  neighbour  in  the  room  to  my  left,  who  began  to  talk 
with  a  low  buzz  as  of  a  night-insect  humming  in  a  bed- 
curtain.  The  surging  of  the  voice  amused  me;  I  lay 
quite  still  and  listened  to  it.  Now  it  rose  loud — I  gleaned 
a  word,  and  was  pleased  ;  now  it  fell — and  I  fretted ;  but 
anon  another  voice  was  added  to  the  first,  and,  if  the  one 
had  pleased  me,  the  second  thrilled  me.  It  was  the  voice 
of  my  friend  who  wished  to  stab  me  at  the  dock. 

"Two  words  spoken  by  this  man  brought  me  to  my 
feet;  two  more  to  the  thin  wooden  door  which  divided 
our  rooms,  as  oft  you  find  them  divided  in  cafes  through 
Italy.  With  feverish  impatience,  I  knelt  to  pry  through 
the  keyhole ;  and  muttered  a  big  oath  when  I  saw  that  it 
was  stuffed  with  paper,  and  that  the  sight  of  the  two  men 
was  hidden  from  me.  But  I  listened  with  an  ear  long 
trained  to  listening,  and,  although  the  men  spoke  so  that 
few  words  reached  me,  I  remained  a  whole  hour  upon  my 
knees,  amazed  that  the  man  should  thus  be  sent  by  Provi- 
dence to  my  very  hotel ;  excited  with  the  new  sensation 
cf  a  foot  upon  the  trail.  The  ship  had  not  sailed,  then, 
for  here  was  the  ruffian,  who  watched  her,  wasting  rest  in 
the  first  hours  to  hold  a  parley;  and  if  a  parley,  with 
whom?  Why,  with  those  who  paid  him  for  the  work,  I 
did  not  doubt. 

"At  the  end  of  an  hour  the  voices  ceased,  but  there  was 
jtill  a  movement  in  the  room.  That  was  hushed  too ;  and 


62  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

I  judged  that  my  neighbour  had  gone  to  bed.  For  myself, 
I  had  one  of  two  courses  before  me:  either  to  court  sleep 
and  wait  luck  with  the  sun,  or  to  see  there  and  then  what 
was  in  the  room,  and  by  whom  it  was  occupied.  You  ask, 
How  was  that  possible?  but  you  forget  my  scurvy  trade 
again.  In  my  bag  were  forbidden  implements  sufficient  to 
stock  Clerkenwell.  I  took  from  that  a  brace  and  bitt,  and 
an  oiled  saw.  In  ten  minutes  I  cut  a  hole  in  the  partition 
and  put  my  eye  to  it,  waiting  first  to  see  if  any  man 
moved.  For  the  moment  my  heart  quaked  as  I  thought 
that  both  the  fellows  had  gone,  but  one  look  reassured 
me.  A  burly,  black-bearded  man  sat  in  a  reverie  before 
a  dressing-table,  and  I  saw  that  there  was  spread  upon  the 
table  a  great  heap  of  jewels  which,  at  the  lowest  valua- 
tion, must  have  been  worth  a  hundred  thousand  pounds. 
And  beside  the  jewels  was  a  big  bull-dog  revolver,  close 
to  the  man's  hand. 

"The  tension  of  the  strange  situation  lasted  for  some 
minutes.  I  had  no  clear  vision  through  my  spy-hole,  and 
knew  not  at  the  first  watching  whether  the  man  I  saw 
was  asleep  or  awake.  A  finer  inspection  of  him,  made 
with  a  catlike  poise  as  I  knelt  crouching  at  the  door, 
showed  me  that  he  slept:  had  fallen  to  sleep  with  his 
fingers  amongst  the  jewels — a  great  rough  dog  of  a  man 
clutching  wealth  in  his  dreaming.  And  he  was,  then, 
one  of  those  connected  with  the  golden  ship  in  the  har- 
bour— the  strange  ship  manned  by  cut-throats,  and  built 
for  a  'South  American  Republic.'  Indeed  did  the  mystery 
deepen,  the  problem  become  more  profound,  every  mo- 
ment that  I  worked  upon  it.  Who  was  this  man?  I 
asked,  and  why  did  he  sit  in  an  Italian  hotel  fingering 
jewels,  and  giving  a  meeting-place  at  midnight  to  a  com- 
mon murderer  from  a  dockyard?  Were  the  jewels  his 


TO  APE  THE  HOUSEBREAKER.  63 

own?  Had  he  come  by  them  honestly?  Had  he  stolen 
them?  Suggestions  and  queries  poured  upon  me;  I  felt 
that,  whatever  it  might  be,  I  would  know  the  truth ;  and 
I  resolved  to  dare  beyond  my  custom,  and  to  learn  more 
of  the  bearded  man  and  of  his  gems. 

"Watch  me,  then,  as  I  knelt  for  a  whole  hour  at  the 
place  oi  observation,  and  waited  for  the  fellow  to  awake. 
It  must  have  been  well  on  towards  morning  when  he 
stirred  in  his  chair,  and  then  sat  bolt  upright.  I  thought 
he  looked  to  have  some  tremor  of  nervousness  upon  him; 
clutching  hastily  at  the  jewels  to  put  them  in  a  great 
leather  case,  which  again  he  shut  in  a  larger  iron  box, 
locking  both,  and  placing  the  key  under  his  pillow.  After 
that  he  threw  off  his  clothes  with  some  impatience,  and, 
leaving  the  lamp  which  burned  upon  his  dressing-table, 
he  dropped  upon  his  bed.  For  myself,  my  plan  was  al- 
ready contrived ;  I  had  determined  to  go  to  great  risk, 
and  to  enter  the  room — playing  the  common  cheat  game, 
yet  more  than  the  common  cheat,  for  that  was  an  enter- 
prise which  needed  all  the  fine  caution  and  daring  which 
long  years  of  police  work  had  taught  me.  I  had  not  only 
to  ape  the  housebreaker,  but  also  to  get  the  good  cunning 
of  a  jewel  robber — and  yet  I  knew  that  the  things  I  had 
seen  warranted  me,  from  my  point  of  view,  in  doing  what 
I  did,  and  that  desperate  means  alone  were  fit  to  cope  with 
the  situation. 

"Now  the  new  work  was  quick.  Being  assured  that 
my  man  slept,  I  put  back  with  some  cold  glue,  which  was 
always  in  my  tool  chest,  the  piece  I  had  cut  from  the  door, 
and  then  picked  the  lock  with  one  grip  of  my  small  pin* 
cers.  My  revolver  I  carried  in  the  belt  at  my  waist,  for 
my  hands  were  occupied  with  a  soft  cloth  and  a  bottle  of 
chloroform.  I  had  big  felt  slippers  upon  my  feet;  and 


64  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

went  straight  to  his  bed,  where  I  let  him  breathe  the  drug 
for  a  few  moments,  and  deepened  his  light  sleep  until  it 
became  heavy  unconsciousness.  In  this  state  I  did  what  I 
would  with  him,  and,  having  no  fear  of  his  awaking,  I 
got  at  his  keys  and  his  jewels,  and  saw  what  I  wished. 
There,  true  enough,  were  precious  stones  of  all  values: 
Brazilian  diamonds,  Cape  stones  tinged  with  yellow,  yet 
big  and  valuable,  the  finer  class  of  Indian  turquoise,  pink 
pearls,  black  pearls — all  these  loosely  wrapped  in  tissue 
paper;  but  a  magnificent  parcel  such  as  you  would  see 
only  in  a  West  End  house  in  London.  I  must  confess, 
however,  that  these  stones  interested  me  but  little,  for  as 
I  delved  amongst  his  treasures  I  brought  up  at  last  a  neck- 
lace of  opals  and  diamonds,  the  first  set  gems  I  had  dis- 
covered ;  and  as  I  held  them  to  the  lamp  and  examined 
the  curious  grouping  of  the  stones,  and  the  strange  East- 
ern form  of  the  clasp,  I  knew  that  I  had  seen  the  bundle 
before.  The  conviction  was  instantaneous,  powerful,  con- 
vincing; yet  even  with  my  aptitude  for  recalling  names, 
places,  and  things,  I  could  not  in  my  mind  place  those 
jewels.  None  the  less  was  I  assured  that  the  one  solid 
clue  I  had  yet  taken  hold  of  was  in  my  keeping;  and,  as 
a  quick  glance  round  the  chamber  told  me  no  more,  I  put 
up  the  baubles  in  their  case  again,  replaced  the  key,  and 
quitted  the  chamber.  Do  not  think,  however,  that  I  had 
neglected  to  mark  my  man:  every  line  of  his  face  was 
written  in  my  mental  notebook,  every  peculiarity  of  head 
and  countenance,  the  shape  of  his  arms,  above  all,  the 
mould  of  the  hands,  that  wonderful  index  to  recognition: 
and  henceforth  I  knew  that  I  could  pick  him  from  a 
hundred  thousand. 

''When  I  had  done  with  this  business,  I  lay  upon  my 
bed,  and  brought  the  whole  of  my  recollection  back  upon 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  STONES.         65 

the  jewels.  Where  had  I  seen  them ;  in  what  circum- 
stances; in  whose  hands?  Again  and  again  I  travelled 
old  ground,  exhumed  buried  cases,  dwelt  upon  names  of 
forgotten  criminals,  and  of  big  world  people.  An  hour's 
intense  mental  concentration  told  me  nothing;  the  dark 
of  the  hour  before  dawn  gave  way  to  the  cold  breaking  of 
morning  light,  and  yet  I  tossed  in  an  agony  of  blank  and 
futile  reasoning.  I  must  have  slept  from  the  sheer  bind- 
ing of  the  brain  somewhere  about  that  hour;  and  in  my 
dreaming  I  got  what  wakefulness  had  denied  to  me. 
There  in  my  sleep  was  the  whole  history  of  the  stones 
written  for  me.  I  remembered  the  Liverpool  landing- 
stage;  the  departure  of  the  Star  liner,  City  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, for  New  York;  the  arrest  of  the  notorious  jewel- 
thief,  Carl  Reichsmann ;  the  discovery  of  the  opal  and 
diamond  necklace  upon  him;  the  restoration  of  it  to — to 
— the  brain  failed  for  a  moment — then  with  a  loud  cry  of 
delight,  which  roused  me,  I  pronounced  the  words;  to 
Lady  Hardon,  of  2O2A,  Berkeley  Square,  London. 

"It  is  a  ridiculous  situation  to  sit  up  in  bed  asking 
yourself  if  your  dream  be  reality,  or  your  reality  be  a 
dream ;  but  when  I  awoke  with  that  name  on  my  lips, 
the  joy  of  the  thing  was  so  surpassing  that  I  repeated  the 
name  again  and  again,  muttering  it  as  I  got  into  my 
clothes,  using  it  all  the  time  I  washed,  and  speaking  it 
aloud  when  I  stood  before  the  glass  to  tie  my  cravat. 
Here,  I  suppose,  the  folly  of  the  whole  repetition  dawned 
upon  me,  for,  of  a  sudden,  I  shut  my  lips  firm  and  close, 
and  bethought  me  of  the  man  in  the  next  room.  What 
of  him?  Was  he  still  there?  I  listened.  There  was  no 
sound,  not  so  much  as  of  a  heavy  sleeper.  He  had  gone 
then,  and  had  Lady  Hardon's  jewels — yet  Lady  Hardon, 


66  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

Lady  Harden — nay,  but  you  could  never  know  the  sud- 
den and  awful  emotion  of  that  great  awakening  which 
came  to  me  in  that  moment  when  my  memory  travelled 
quickly  on  to  Lady  Hardon's  end ;  for  I  remembered  then 
that  she  went  down  in  the  great  steamer  Alexandria, 
which  was  lost  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  twelve  months  before 
I  discovered  the  golden  ship  in  the  dockyard  at  Spezia; 
and  I  recalled  the  fact,  known  world-wide,  that  her 
famous  jewels,  this  necklace  amongst  them,  had  gone 
with  her  to  her  end.  Lost,  I  say;  yet  that  was  the  ac- 
count at  Lloyd's;  lost  with  never  a  soul  to  give  a  word 
about  her  agony;  lost  hopelessly  in  the  broad  of  the  bay. 
How  came  it,  then,  that  this  man  who  knew  the  ruffians 
in  the  dockyard  below;  who  seemed  a  common  fellow, 
yet  possessed  a  hundred  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  jew- 
ellery, how  came  it  that  he  had  got  that  which  the  world 
thought  to  be  lying  on  the  sands  of  the  bay?  You  say, 
'Pshaw,  it  was  not  the  same  bauble;'  that  is  the  obvious 
answer  to  my  theorising,  but  in  the  recognition  of  historic 
gems  a  man  trained  as  I  was  never  makes  an  error.  I 
would  have  staked  my  life  that  the  jewels  were  those 
supposed  to  be  under  the  sea;  and,  moved  to  a  state  of 
deep  excitement,  I  left  my  hotel  without  breakfast,  and 
mounted  to  the  hill-top  for  tidings  of  the  great  vessel. 

"But  she  had  sailed,  and  the  dock  which  had  held  her 
was  empty. 

''This  discovery  did  not  daunt  me,  for  I  had  expected 
it.  I  should  have  been  surprised  if  she  had  been  at  her 
berth ;  and  the  fact  that  she  had  weighed  under  cover 
of  night  fell  in  so  well  with  my  anticipation  that  I  waited 
only  to  ascertain  officially  what  ships  had  left  Spezia 
during  the  past  twenty-four  hours.  They  told  me  at  the 
Customs  that  the  Brazilian  war-vessel  built  by  Signor 


STEP  BY  STEP.  67 

Vezzia  weighed  at  three  a.  m. ;  but  more  I  could  not 
learn,  for  these  men  had  evidently  been  well  bribed,  and 
were  as  dumb  as  unfee'd  lawyers.  I  knew  that  their  in- 
formation was  not  worth  a  groat,  and  hurried  back  to 
the  Albergo  to  assure  myself  that  my  neighbour  with  the 
necklace  had  sailed  also.  To  my  surprise,  he  was  at 
breakfast  when  I  arrived  at  the  hotel;  and  so  one  great 
link  in  my  theoretic  chain  snapped  at  the  first  test.  As 
he  had  not  sailed  with  the  others,  he  could  have  no  direct 
connection  with  the  nameless  ship,  no  nautical  part  or  lot 
with  her.  But  what  was  he,  then?  That  I  meant  to 
know  as  soon  as  opportunity  should  serve. 

******* 

''I  have  led  you  up,  Strong,  step  by  step,  through  the 
details  of  this  work  to  this  point,  that  you  may  have  the 
facts  unalloyed  as  I  have  them ;  and  may  construct  your 
history  from  this  preamble  as  I  have  constructed  mine.  I 
am  now  about  to  move  over  the  ground  more  quickly.  I 
will  quit  Spezia,  and  ask  you  to  come  with  me,  after  the 
interval  of  nigh  a  year — during  which  no  man  had  known 
that  which  I  now  tell  you — to  London,  where,  in  an  hotel 
in  Cecil  Street,  Strand,  I  was  again  the  neighbour  of  the 
man  with  the  jewels  whom  I  had  taken  so  daring  an  ad- 
vantage of  in  Italy.  Let  me  tell  you  briefly  what  had 
happened  in  the  between-time.  The  day  on  which  the 
nameless  ship  left  the  dock,  this  man — whom,  I  may  say  at 
once,  I  have  always  met  under  the  name  of  Captain 
Black — quitted  the  town  and  reached  Paris.  Thither  I 
followed  him,  staying  one  day  in  the  French  capital,  but 
going  onward  with  him  on  the  following  morning  to 
Cherbourg.  There  he  went  aboard  a  s-mall  yacht,  and  I 
lost  him  in  the  Channel.  1  returned  at  once  to  Italy,  and 


68  THE  SHADOW  OX  THE  SEA. 

wired  to  friends  in  the  police  force  at  New  York,  at 
London,  and  San  Francisco,  and  at  three  ports  in  South 
America  for  news  (a)  of  a  new  war-ship  lately  completed 
at  Spezia  for  the  Brazilian  republic;  (b}  of  a  man  known 
as  Captain  Black,  who  left  the  port  of  Cherbourg  in  the 
cutter  yacht  La  France  on  the  morning  of  October  3Oth. 
For  nearly  twelve  months  I  waited  for  an  answer  to  these 
questions ;  but  none  came  to  me.  To  the  best  of  my 
knowledge,  the  nameless  war-ship  was  never  seen  upon  the 
high  seas.  I  began  to  ask  myself,  if  she  existed,  how  came 
it  that  a  vessel,  burnished  to  the  beauty  of  gold,  had  been 
spoken  of  none,  seen  of  none,  reported  in  no  harbour, 
mentioned  in  no  despatch?  Yet  she  remained  known  but 
to  her  crew  and  to  me;  and  my  study  of  shipping  lists, 
gazettes,  and  papers  in  all  tongues,  never  gave  me  clue 
to  her.  Only  this,  I  had  such  a  record  of  navigation  as  I 
think  man  never  kept  yet  before;  and  I  marked  it  as 
curious,  if  nothing  more,  that  in  the  month  when  the 
cruiser  quitted  Spezia  three  ocean-going  steamers,  each 
carrying  specie  to  the  value  of  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds,  went  down  in  fair  weather,  and  were 
paid  for  at  Lloyd's.  What  folly !  you  say  again ;  what 
are  you  going  to  conclude?  I  answer  only — God  grant 
that  I  conclude  falsely — that  this  terrible  thing  I  suspect 
is  the  phantom  of  a  too-keen  imagination. 

"Now,  when  no  tidings  came,  either  of  the  ship  I 
sought  or  of  the  man  Black,  I  did  not  lose  all  hope.  In- 
deed, I  was  much  occupied  making — during  a  month's 
leisure  in  London — a  list,  as  far  as  that  were  possible,  of 
all  the  gems  and  baubles  which  the  dead  men  and  women 
on  the  sunken  steamers  had  owned.  This  was  a  paltry 
record  of  bracelets,  and  rings,  and  tiaras,  and  clasps,  such 
stuff  as  any  fellow  of  a  jeweller  may  sell;  unconvincing 


THE  JASPER  BOX.  69 

stuff,  worth  no  more  than  a  near  relation  for  purposes 
of  evidence.  There  was  but  one  piece  of  the  whole  mass 
that  did  not  come  in  my  category — a  great  box  with  a 
fine  painting  by  Jean  Petitot  upon  its  lid,  and  a  curious 
circle  of  jasper  all  about  the  miniatures.  This  was  a 
historic  piece  of  bijouterie  mentioned  as  having  once  been 
the  property  of  Necker,  the  French  financier;  then  lost 
by  a  New  York  dealer,  who  was  taking  it  from  Paris  to 
Boston  in  the  steamship  Catalania;  the  ship  supposed  to 
have  foundered,  with  the  loss  of  all  hands,  off  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland,  sixteen  days  aker  the  nameless  ship 
left  Spezia.  I  made  a  record  of  this  trifle,  and  forgot  it 
until,  many  months  later,  a  private  communication  from 
the  head  of  the  New  York  Secret  Service  told  me  that  the 
man  I  wanted  was  in  London;  that  he  was  an  American 
millionaire,  who  owned  a  house  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson  River;  who  had  great  influence  in  many  cities, 
who  came  to  Europe  to  buy  precious  stones  and  miniature 
paintings,  a  man  who  was  considered  eccentric  by  his 
friends.  I  kept  the  notes,  and  hurried  to  England — for 
I  had  been  to  Geneva  some  while — and  took  rooms  in  the 
hotel  where  Captain  Black  was  staying.  Three  days 
after  I  was  disguised  as  you  have  seen  me,  selling  him 
miniatures.  Within  a  week,  by  what  steps  I  need  not 
pause  to  say,  I  knew  that  the  jasper  box,  lost,  by  report, 
in  the  steamer  Catalania,  was  under  lock  and  key  in  his 
bedroom. 

"I  cannot  tell  you  how  that  discovery  agitated  me. 
Here,  indeed,  was  my  second  direct  link.  The  man  had  in 
his  possession  an  historic  and  unmistakable  casket,  which 
all  the  world  believed  to  be  lost  in  a  steamer  from  which 
no  soul  had  escaped.  How  I  treasured  that  knowledge! 
Three  months  the  man  remained  in  London;  during  three 


70  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

months  he  was  not  thirty  hours  out  of  my  sight  or  knowl- 
edge. Day  by  day  when  with  him,  I  consulted  such  ship- 
ping information  as  I  could  get ;  and  scored  another  mark 
upon  my  record,  when  I  made  sure  that  no  inexplicable 
story  from  the  sea  was  written  while  he  remained  ashore. 
This  was  perplexing  for  a  surety.  I  could  not  in  any  way 
connect  the  man  with  the  nameless  ship,  and  yet  he  knew 
her  crew;  he  was  the  one  in  whose  possession  the  jewels 
were;  above  all,  while  he  was  ashore,  there  were  no  dis- 
asters which  could  not  be  set  down  to  ocean  peril  or  the 
act  of  God,  as  the  policies  say.  This  further  knowledge 
held  me  to  him  with  the  magnetic  attraction  of  a  mystery 
such  as  I  have  never  known  in  my  life.  I  resigned  my 
work  for  the  Government ;  and  henceforth  gave  myself 
heart  and  soul  to  the  pursuit  of  the  man.  I  followed  him 
to  Paris,  to  St.  Petersburg;  I  tracked  him  through 
France  to  Marseilles;  I  watched  him  embark,  with  three 
of  the  ruffians  I  had  seen  at  Spezia,  in  his  yacht  again ; 
and  within  a  month  the  yacht  was  in  harbour  at  Cowes 
without  him;  while  a  steamer,  bound  from  the  Cape  to 
Cadiz,  and  known  to  have  specie  aboard  her,  went  out 
of  knowledge  as  the  others  had  done.  Then  was  I  sure, 
sure  of  that  awful  dream  I  had  dreamed,  conscious  that 
I  alone  shared  with  that  man  and  his  crew  one  of  the 
most  ghastly  secrets  that  the  deep  has  kept  within  her. 

"The  end  of  my  story  I  judge  now  that  you  anticipate. 
Though  absolutely  convinced  myself,  I  had  still  lack  of 
fhe  one  direct  link  to  make  a  legal  chain.  I  had  positively 
•to  connect  the  man  Black  with  the  nameless  ship,  for  this 
I  had  only  done  so  far  by  pure  circumstance.  For  many 
months  I  have  made  no  gain  in  this  attempt.  Last  year 
in  Liverpool  I  sketched  in  yet  another  point  in  my  picture. 
J  received  tidings  of  the  man  in  that  city,  and  there  I  did 


FROM  "THE  FALLEN  OF  THE  DEAD.      ft 

trade  with  him  in  my  old  disguise;  but  he  was  not  alone 
—the  crew  of  ruffians  you  have  known  by  this  time  kept- 
company  with  him  in  that  bold  and  bestial  Bohemianism 
you  will  have  witnessed  with  me.  I  kept  vigil  there  a 
week,  but  lost-  him  at  the  end  of  that  time,  When  he 
reappeared  in  the  circles  of  civilisation  it  was  in  Paris, 
but  two  days  ago,  when  I  asked  you  to  accompany  me. 
You  know  that  I  attempted  to  sail  with  him  on  his  cruise, 
and  your  instinct  tells  you  why.  If  I  could,  by  being  two 
days  afloat  in  his  company,  prove  beyond  doubt  that  he 
used  his  yacht  as  a  pretence:  if  I  could  prove  that  when 
he  left  port  in  her  he  sailed  some  miles  out  to  sea,  and 
was  picked  up  by  the  nameless  ship,  my  chain  was  forged, 
my  book  complete,  and  I  had  but  to  call  the  Government 
to  the  work! 

"But  I  have  railed,  and  the  labour  I  have  set  myself 
shall  be  done  by  others,  but  chiefly,  Mark  Strong,  by  you. 
From  the  valley  of  the  dead  whence  soon  I  must  look 
back,  if  it  is  to  be  on  a  life  that  has  no  achievement  be- 
fore God  in  it,  I,  who  have  laid  down  such  a  life  as  mine 
was  in  this  cause,  urge  you  upon  it.  You  have  youth, 
and  money  sufficient  for  the  enterprise;  you  will  get 
money  in  its  pursuit.  You  have  no  fear  of  the  black 
After,  which  is  the  end  of  life;  but,  above  all,  it  may 
come  to  you  as  it  came  to  me,  that  there  is  the  finger  of 
the  Almighty  God  pointing  to  your  path  of  duty.  I 
have  lived  the  life  of  a  common  eavesdropper;  but  be- 
lieve me  that  in  this  work  I  have  felt  the  call  of  hu- 
manity, and  hoped,  if  I  might  live  to  accomplish  it,  that 
the  Book  of  the  Good  should  find  some  place  for  my  name. 
So  may  you  when  my  mantle  falls  upon  you.  What  in- 
formation I  have,  you  have.  The  names  of  my  friends 


72  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

in  the  cities  mentioned  I  have  written  down  for  you ; 
they  will  serve  you  for  the  memory  of  my  name;  but  be 
assured  at  the  outset  that  you  will  never  take  this  man 
upon  the  sea.  And  as  for  the  money  which  is  rightly  due 
to  the  one  who  rids  humanity  of  this  pest,  I  say,  go  to 
the  Admiralty  in  London,  and  lay  so  much  of  your 
knowledge  before  them  as  shall  prevent  a  robbery  of  your 
due;  claim  a  fit  reward  from  them  and  the  steamship 
companies;  and,  as  your  beginning,  go  now  to  the  Hud- 
son River — I  meant  to  go  within  a  month — and  learn 
there  more  of  the  man  you  seek;  or,  if  the  time  be  ripe, 
lay  hands  there  upon  him.  And  may  the  spirit  of  a  dead 
man  breathe  success  upon  you!" 

On  the  yacht  "Celsis,"  lying  at  Cowes,  written  in  the 
month  of  August,  for  Mark  Strong. 


When  I  had  put  down  the  papers,  my  eyes  were  tear- 
stained  with  the  effort  of  reading,  and  the  cabin  lamp  w.v> 
nigh  out.  My  interest  in  the  writing  had  been  so  sus- 
tained that  I  had  not  seen  the  march  of  daylight,  now 
streaming  through  the  glass  above,  upon  my  bare  cabin 
table.  But  I  was  burnt  up  almost  with  a  fever;  and  the 
oppressive  fumes  from  the  stinking  lamp  seemed  to  choke 
me  so,  that  I  went  above,  and  saw  that  we  were  at  anchor 
in  the  Solent,  and  that  the  whole  glory  of  a  summer's 
dawn  lit  the  sleeping  waters.  And  all  the  yacht  herself 
breathed  sleep,  for  the  others  were  below,  and  Dan  alone 
paced  the  deck. 

The  first  knowledge  that  I  had  of  the  true  effect  of 
Martin  Hall's  narrative  was  the  muttered  exclamation  of 
this  old  sailor — 


"FOR  LONDON  TO-NIGHT."  73 

"Ye  hav'nt  slept,  sir,"  said  he;  "ye're  just  the  colour 
of  yon  ensign!" 

"Quite  true,  Dan — it  was  close  down  there." 

"Gospel  truth,  without  a  hitch;  but  ye're  precious  bad, 
sir;  I  never  seed  a  worse  figger-'ed,  excusin'  the  liberty. 
I'd  rest  a  bit,  sir." 

"Good  advice,  Dan.  I'll  sleep  here  an  hour,  if  you'll 
get  my  rug  from  below." 

I  stretched  myself  on  a  deck-chair,  and  he  covered  my 
limbs  almost  with  a  woman's  tenderness,  so  that  I  slept 
and  dreamt  again  of  Hall,  of  Captain  Black,  of  the  man 
"Four- Eyes,"  of  a  great  holocaust  on  the  sea.  I  was 
carried  away  by  sleep  to  far  cities  and  among  other  men, 
to  great  perils  of  the  sea,  to  strange  sights ;  but  over  them 
all  loomed  the  phantom  of  a  golden  ship,  and  from  her 
decks  great  fires  came.  When  I  awoke,  a  doctor  from 
Southsea  was  writing  down  the  names  of  drugs  upon 
paper ;  and  Mary  was  busy  with  ice.  They  told  me  I 
had  slept  for  thirty  hours,  and  that  they  had  feared  brain- 
fever.  But  the  sleep  had  saved  me;  and  when  Mary 
talked  of  the  doctor's  order  that  I  was  to  lie  resting  a 
week,  I  laughed  aloud. 

"You'd  better  prescribe  that  for  Roderick,"  said  I; 
"he'd  rest  a  month,  wouldn't  you,  old  chap?" 

"I  don't  know  about  a  month,  old  man,  but  you  mustn't 
try  the  system  too  much." 

"Well,  I'm  going  to  try  it  now,  anyway,  for  I  start 
for  London  to-night!" 

"What!"  they  cried  in  one  voice. 

"Exactly,  and  if  Mary  would  not  mind  running  on 
deck  for  a  minute,  I'll  tell  you  why,  Roderick." 

She  went  at  the  word,  casting  one  pleading  look  with 
her  eyes  as  she  stood  at  the  door,  but  I  gave  no  sign,  and 


74  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

she  closed  it.  I  had  fixed  upon  a  course,  and  as  Roderick, 
dreamingly  indifferent,  prepared  to  talk  about  that  which 
he  called  my  "madness,"  I  took  Hall  s  manuscript,  and 
read  it  to  him.  When  I  had  finished,  there  was  a  strange 
light  in  his  eyes. 

"Let's  go  at  once,"  he  said;    and  that  was  all. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

I  ENGAGE  A  SECOND  MATE. 

WE  caught  the  first  train  to  London ;  and  were  at  the 
Hotel  Columbia  by  Charing  Cross  in  time  for  dinner. 
Mary  had  insisted  on  her  right  to  accompany  us,  and,  as 
we  could  find  no  valid  reason  why  she  should  not,  we 
brought  her  to  the  hotel  with  us.  Then  by  way  of  calm- 
ing that  trouble,  excitement,  and  expectation  which 
crowded  on  us  both,  we  went  to  Covent  Garden,  where 
the  autumn  season  of  opera  was  then  on,  and  listened  to 
the  glorious  nausic  of  Orfeo  and  the  Cavallena.  Nor  did 
either  of  us  speak  again  that  night  of  Hall  or  of  his  death; 
but  I  confess  that  the  vision  of  it  haunted  my  eyes,  stand- 
ing out  upon  all  the  scenes  that  were  set,  so  that  I  saw 
it  upon  the  canvas,  and  often  before  me  the  wind-worn 
struggle  of  a  burning  ship;  while  that  awful  "Ahoy!"  of 
my  own  men  yet  rang  in  my  ears. 

When  I  returned  to  the  hotel  I  wrote  two  letters,  the 
beginning  of  my  task.  One  was  to  the  Admiralty,  the 
other  to  the  office  of  the  Black  Anchor  Line  of  American 
Steamships.  I  told  Roderick  what  I  had  done,  but  he 
laughed  at  the  idea ;  so  that  I  troubled  him  no  more  with 
it,  awaiting  its  proof.  On  the  next  morning,  in  a  few 
moments  of  privacy  between  us,  he  agreed  to  let  me 
work  alone  for  two  days,  and  then  to  venture  on  sugges- 
tion himself.  So  it  came  to  be  that  on  the  next  day  I 
found  myself  standing  in  a  meagrely-furnished  anteroom 
at  the  Admiralty,  and  there  waiting  the  pleasure  of  one 
of  the  clerks,  who  had  been  deputed  to  talk  with  me.  He 


76  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

was  a  fine  fellow,  I  doubt  not ;  had  much  merit  of  his 
faultless  bow,  and  great  worth  in  the  nicety  of  his  spot- 
less waistcoat,  but  God  never  made  one  so  dull  or  so 
preposterous  a  blockhead.  I  see  him  now,  rolling  up  the 
starved  hairs  which  struggled  for  existence  upon  his  chin, 
and  letting  his  cuffs  lie  well  upon  his  bony  wrists  as  he 
asked  me,  with  a  floating  drawl — 

"And  what  service  can  I  do  for  you?" 

For  me!  What  service  could  he  do  for  me?  I  smiled 
at  him,  and  did  not  disguise  my  contempt. 

"If  there  is  any  responsible  person  here,"  I  said,  with 
emphasis  upon  the  word  responsible,  "I  should  be  glad  to 
impart  to  him  some  very  curious,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
very  remarkable,  information  concerning  a  war-ship  which 
has  just  left  Spezia,  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  property 
of  the  Brazilian  Government." 

''It's  very  good  of  you,  don't  you  know,"  he  replied, 
as  he  bent  down  to  arrange  his  ample  trousers;  "but  I 
fancy  we  heard  something  about  her  last  week,  so  we 
won't  trouble  you,  don't  you  know;"  and  he  felt  to  see 
if  his  bow  were  straight. 

"You  may  have  heard  something  of  the  ship,"  I  an- 
swered with  warmth,  "but  that  which  I  have  to  com- 
municate is  not  of  descriptive,  but  of  national,  importance. 
You  cannot  by  any  means  have  learnt  my  story,  for  there 
is  only  one  man  living  who  knows  it." 

He  looked  up  at  the  clock  a  moment  as  though  seeking 
inspiration,  but  his  mind  was  quite  vacant  when  he  re- 
plied : 

"It's  awfully  good  of  you,  don't  you  know;  we're  so 
frightfully  busy  this  month:  if  you  could  come  in  a 
month's  time " 

"In  a  month's  time,"  I  said,  rising  with  scorn,  "in  a 


UTTER  AND  CRUSHING  FAILURE.       77 

month's  time,  if  you  and  yours  don't  stand  condemned 
before  Europe  for  a  parcel  of  fools  and  incompetents,  then 
you'll  send  for  me,  but  I'll  see  you  at  blazes  first — good- 
morning!" 

I  was  outside  the  office  before  his  exclamation  of  sur- 
prise had  passed  away;  and  within  half-an-hour  I  sat  in 
the  private  room  of  the  secretary  to  the  Black  Anchor 
Steamship  Company.  He  was  a  sharp  man  of  business, 
keen-visaged  as  a  ferret,  and  restless  as  a  nervous  horse 
long  reined  in.  I  told  him  shortly  that  I  had  reason  to 
doubt  the  truth  of  the  statement  that  a  war-ship  recently 
built  at  Spezia  was  intended  for  the  purposes  set  down  to 
her;  that  I  believed  she  was  the  property  of  an  American 
adventurer  whose  motives  I  scarce  dared  to  realise;  that 
I  had  proof,  amounting  to  conviction,  that  this  man  pos- 
sessed jewels  which  were  commonly  accounted  as  lost  in 
his  firm's  steamer  Catalania;  and  that  if  his  company 
would  agree  to  bear  the  expense,  and  to  give  me  suitable 
recompense  if  I  succeeded  in  supporting  my  conjectures, 
I  would  undertake  to  bring  him  the  whole  history  of  the 
nameless  ship  within  twelve  months;  and  also  to  give 
him  such  knowledge  as  would  enable  him  to  lay  hands  on 
the  man  called  ''Captain  Black,"  should  this  man  prove 
the  criminal  I  believed  him  to  be.  To  all  which  tale  he 
listened,  his  searching  eye  fixing  its  stare  plump  upon  me, 
from  time  to  time;  but  when  I  had  done,  he  rang  the 
bell  for  his  clerk,  and  I  could  see  that  he  felt  himself  in 
the  company  of  a  maniac.  So  I  left  him,  and  breathed  the 
breath  of  liberty  again  as  I  went  back  to  the  hotel,  and 
told  Roderick  of  the  utter  and  crushing  failure  waiting 
upon  the  very  beginning  of  the  task  which  Martin  Hall 
had  left  to  me. 


7$  THE  SHADOW  G>A*  THE 

Roderick  was  not  at  all  surprised — it  seemed  to  me 
rather  that  he  was  glad. 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  he  said,  as  he  sat  up  on  the 
couch,  and  took  the  tube  of  his  hookah  from  his  mouth ; 
"who  will  believe  such  a  tale  as  we  are  hawking  in  the 
market-place — selling,  in  fact,  to  the  highest  bidder?  If  a 
man  came  to  you  with  the  same  account,  and  with  no 
more  authority  to  support  him  than  the  story  of  a  dead 
detective — who  may  have  lost  his  wits,  or  may  never  have 
had  any  to  lose — would  you  put  down  a  shilling  to  see 
him  through  with  the  business?  Pshaw!  my  dear  old 
Mark,  you,  with  your  long  head  and  that  horribly  critical 
eye  of  yours,  you  wouldn't  give  him  a  groat." 

"Exactly,  I  should  consider  him  a  dupe  or  a  stark- 
staring  madman ;  but  the  case  is  different  as  it  stands.  I 
know — I  would  stake  my  life  on  it — that  every  word 
Martin  Hall  wrote  is  true,  true  as  my  life  itself.  I  am 
not  so  sure  that  you  are  convinced,  though." 

I  awaited  his  answer,  but  it  did  not  come  for  many 
minutes.  He  had  passed  through  his  momentary  en- 
thusiasm and  lay  at  full  length  upon  the  couch,  making 
circles,  parabolas,  and  ellipses  of  fine  white  smoke,  while 
he  fixed  his  gaze  upon  the  frieze  of  the  wall,  as  if  he 
were  counting  the  architraves. 

"Mark,"  he  said  at  last,  "when  we  were  at  Harrow 
together  an  aged  sage  impressed  upon  us  the  meaning  of 
Seneca's  line,  'Venias  odit  morns.'  I  regard  myself  at  the 
moment  in  a  position  of  truth ;  but  whether  on  calm  re- 
flection I  believe  the  whole  of  your  dead  friend's  story. 
I'm  hanged  if  I  know,  and  therefore" — here  he  made  a 
long  pause  and  smoked  violently — "and  therefore  I  have 
bought  a  steamer." 

"You  have  dene  what?" 


A  NEtf7  "CELSIS."  79 

"At  two  o'clock  to-day,  in  your  absence,  I  bought  the 
steam-yacht  Rocket,  lately  the  property  of  Lord  Wilmer, 
now  the  property  of  Roderick  Stewart,  of  the  Hotel  Co- 
lumbia, London." 

I  think  I  must  have  laughed  sorrowfully  at  him,  as  a 
man  laughs  at  a  drawing-room  humorist,  for  he  continued 
quickly — 

"Before  we  go  on  board  her,  the  yacht  will  be  re- 
christened  by  Alary — who  will  stay  with  her  dear  maiden 
aunt  in  our  absence — and  will  be  named  after  your  vessel 
Celsis.  Her  crew  will  consist  of  our  silent  friend,  Cap- 
tain York,  of  his  brother  as  chief  mate,  and  of  your  men 
now  at  Portsmouth,  with  half-a-dozen  more.  We  shall 
need  eight  firemen,  whom  the  agents  will  engage,  and 
three  engineers,  already  found,  for  I  have  taken  on  Lord 
Wilmer's  men.  Your  cook,  old  'Cuss-a-lot,'  will  serve 
us  very  well  during  the  fourteen  or  fifteen  days  we  shall 
need  to  go  across  the  Atlantic,  and  wre  want  now  only  a 
second  and  third  officer.  As  these  men  will  be  mixed 
up  with  us  on  the  quarter-deck,  I  have  told  the  agents 
to  send  them  up  to  see  you  here — so  you'll  run  your  eye 
over  them  and  tell  me  if  they'll  do.  I  hate  seeing  people  ; 
they  bore  me,  and  I  mean  you  to  take  charge  of  this 
enterprise  from  the  very  beginning — you  quite  under- 
stand?" 

"Roderick,  my  old  friend,  I'm  as  blank  as  a  drawing- 
board — would  you  mind  giving  me  that  yarn  from  the 
beginning  again — and  tell  me  first,  why  are  we  going; 
then,  where  are  we  going;  and  after  that,  what  has  your 
steamer  to  do  with  the  business  of  Martin  Hall — and, 
\vell,  and  what  we  know?" 

HP  spoke  quickly  in  answer,  and  seemed  disappointed, 

^1  hate  palaver,"  he  said,  "and  didn't  think  to  find  yovi 


80  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

dense,  but  you're  growing  silly  at  this  business  anyway. 
Now,  look  here ;  until  you  read  me  that  paper  in  your 
cabin,  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  felt  anger  against  any 
man,  but,  before  God,  I'll  bring  the  man  who  murdered 
Martin  Hall,  and  Heaven  knows  how  many  others,  to 
justice  or  I'll  never  know  another  hour's  rest.  You  have 
been  talking  of  Governments  and  ship-owners  for  twenty- 
four  hours;  but  what  have  Governments  and  ship-owners 
to  do  with  us?  Is  it  money  you  want?  Well,  what's 
mine  is  yours;  and  I'm  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  pounds  if  I'm  worth  a  shilling.  Is  it  profit  of 
a  dead  man's  work  you're  after?  Well  then,  mark  your 
man,  learn  all  about  him,  run  him  to  his  hole;  and  then, 
when  other  people  besides  yourself  know  his  story,  as  it 
must  be  known  in  a  few  months'  time,  put  your  price  on 
what  is  your  own,  and  don't  fear  to  recompense  yourself. 
What  I  want  you  to  see  is  this: — For  some  months,  at 
any  rate,  we  shall  get  no  outside  help  in  this  matter  from 
any  living  creature;  what  we're  going  to  do  must  be  done 
at  our  cost,  which  is  my  cost.  And  what  we're  going  to 
do  isn't  to  be  done  at  this  hotel,  or  on  this  couch,  or  in 
the  City:  it's  going  to  be  done  on  the  high  seas,  and 
after  that  in  America  on  the  Hudson  River,  where,  if 
Hall  be  right,  is  the  home  of  Captain  Black.  It  is  to  the 
Hudson  River  that  I  mean  to  go  now — at  once,  as  soon 
as  money  and  the  devil's  own  number  of  men  can  get  the 
steam-yacht  Celsis  ready  for  sea.  And  at  my  cost,  don't 
forget  that;  though  I'm  a  fool  in  the  game,  which  is 
yours  to  make  and  yours  to  play,  as  it  has  been  from  the 
beginning,  when  the  dead  man  chose  you  to  finish  it  and  to 
reckon  with  the  scoundrels  now  afloat  somewhere  between 
here  and  the  Banks.  In  his  name  I  ask  you  now  to  close 
your  hand  with  me  on  this  bargain,  to  ask  no  question,  to 


/  MEET  FRANCIS  PAOLO.  81 

make  no  protests,  and  to  remember  that  we  sail  in  three 
days,  if  possible,  and  if  not  in  three,  then,  in  as  small  a 
number  as  will  serve  to  get  the  steamer  ready." 

What  could  I  say  to  a  story  such  as  this  one?  I  could 
only  wring  his  hand,  and  feel  how  hot  it  was,  knowing 
that  the  same  haunting  wish  to  be  up  and  off  in  the  pur- 
suit was  about  him  as  about  me.  For  half-an-hour  we  sat 
and  smoked  together.  In  three-quarters  I  was  closeted  in 
the  room  below  with  Francis  Paolo,  who  had  come  from 
the  agents  to  seek  the  berth  of  second  officer  to  the  new 
yacht  Celsis.  When  the  servant  gave  me  this  man's  name, 
I  had  some  misgiving  at  its  Italian  sound,  but  I  remem- 
bered that  Italy  is  breeding  a  nation  of  sailors;  and  I  put 
off  the  prejudice,  and  hurried  down  to  see  him.  I  found 
him  to  be  a  sprightly,  dark-faced,  black-haired  Italian,  ap- 
parently no  more  than  twenty-five  years  old ;  and  he 
greeted  me  with  much  smoothness  of  speech.  He  had 
served  three  years  as  third  officer  to  the  big  steam-yacht 
owned  by  the  noted  Frenchman,  the  Marquis  de  Clune- 
ville ;  and,  as  he  was  unmistakably  a  gentleman,  and  his 
discharges  were  in  perfect  order,  I  engaged  him  there  and 
then  for  the  post  of  second  officer  to  the  Celsis,  and  gave 
him  orders  to  join  her  at  Plymouth,  where  she  lay,  as  soon 
as  might  be. 

But  had  I  known  him  then  as  I  know  him  now,  I  would 
have  paid  a  thousand  pounds  never  to  have  seen  him! 


82 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  GREAT  PURSUIT. 

IT  was  our  last  day  in  London.  Roderick  and  I  sat 
down  to  dinner  in  the  hotel,  the  touch  of  depression  upon 
us  both.  Mary  had  left  us  early  in  the  morning  to  go  to 
Salisbury,  where  her  kinsfolk  lived,  and  I  confess  that  her 
readiness  to  quit  us  without  protest  somewhat  hurt  me. 
I  imagine  that  I  was  thinking  of  it,  for  I  blurted  out  at 
last,  when  we  had  been  silent  for  at  least  a  quarter  of 
an  hour — 

"I  suppose  she's  arrived  by  this." 

''No,  I  didn't  post  her  till  three,"  Roderick  replied  in 
equal  reflective  mood. 

"Didn't  pest  who?"  I  asked  indignantly. 
"Why,  old  Belle,  of  course.    I  sent  her  down  with  the 
guard  to  get  her  out  of  the  way." 

"Oh,"  I  replied,  "I  was  thinking  of  Mary,  not  of  your 
dog." 

"You  always  are,"  he  said;  "but,  between  ourselves, 
I'm  glad  she  went.  I  thought  there'd  be  a  fuss;  and  if 
it  comes  to  a  row,  as  it  most  probably  will,  girls  are  in 
the  way.  Don't  you  think  so?  But,  of  course  you  don't." 
I  didn't,  and  made  no  bones  of  pretence  about  it.  Mary 
was  a  child ;  there  was  no  doubt  about  that ;  but  as  I 
girded  up  my  courage  for  this  undertaking,  I  thought  how 
much  those  pretty  eyes  would  have  encouraged  me,  and 
how  sweet  that  childish  laugh  would  have  been  in  mid- 
Atlantic.  But  there — that's  no  part  of  this  story. 

We  were  going  down  to  Plymouth  by  the  nine  o'clock 
mail  from  Paddington,  and  there  was  not  a  wealth  of  time 


THE  PORTER  IS  EMPHATIC.  83 

to  spare.  So  soon  as  we  had  dined,  I  went  up  to  my 
room  to  put  the  small  things  of  need  away,  meaning  to  be 
no  more  than  five  minutes  at  the  work ;  but,  to  my  amaze- 
ment, the  whole  of  the  place  had  been  turned  utterly  in- 
side-out by  one  who  had  been  there  before  me.  My  trunk 
lay  upside-down ;  my  writing  case  was  unlocked  and 
stripped,  my  diary  was  torn  and  rent,  my  clothes  were 
scattered.  I  thought  at  first  that  a  common  cheat  of  a 
hotel  thief  had  been  busy  snapping  up  trifles;  but  I  got  a 
shock  greater  than  any  I  had  known  since  Martin  Hall's 
death  when  I  felt  for  his  writing,  which  lay  secure  in  its 
case,  and  found  that,  while  the  main  narrative  was  intact, 
his  letters  to  the  police  at  New  York,  his  plans,  and  his 
sketches  had  been  taken.  For  the  moment  the  discovery 
made  me  reel.  I  could  not  realise  its  import,  and  almost 
mechanically  I  rang  for  a  servant,  who  sent  the  manager 
to  me. 

His  perplexity  and  dismay  were  no  less  than  mine. 

"No  one  has  any  right  to  enter  your  rooms,"  he  said, 
"and  I  will  guarantee  the  honesty  of  my  servants  unhesi- 
tatingly. Let  us  ring  and  ask  for  the  porter." 

The  porter  was  emphatic. 

"No  one  has  been  here  after  you  since  yesterday,  sir, 
when  the  Italian  gentleman  came,"  he  pleaded.  "To-day 
he  sent  a  man  for  a  parcel  he  left  here,  but  I  know  of  no 
one  else  who  has  even  mentioned  your  name." 

"What  is  the  amount  of  your  loss?"  asked  the  man- 
ager, as  he  began  to  assist  me  to  make  things  straight,  and 
the  question  gave  me  inspiration.  I  made  a  hurried  search, 
and  I  must  have  shown  feeling,  for  I  was  conscious  of 
pallor  of  face  and  momentary  giddiness. 

"You  have  lost  something  of  great  value,  then,"  he 
continued,  as  he  watched.  And  I  replied — > 


84  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Yes,  but  to  myself  only.  Nothing  has  been  taken 
from  the  room  but  papers,  which  may  be  worth  ten  thou- 
sand pounds  to  me.  They  are  not  worth  a  penny  to  any- 
one else." 

"Oh!  papers  only — that  is  fortunate;  it  is,  perhaps  a 
case  for  your  own  private  detective." 

"Quite  so;  I  shouldn't  have  troubled  you  had  I  made 
a  search  before.  I  will  see  to  it  myself — many  thanks." 

He  withdrew  with  profuse  apologies,  but  I  remained 
standing,  with  all  the  heart  out  of  me.  What,  in  Heaven's 
name,  did  it  mean?  Who  had  interest  to  rifle  my  port- 
folio and  take  the  papers?  Who  could  have  interest? 
Who  but  the  man  I  meant  to  hunt  down?  And  what 
did  he  know  of  me — what?  I  asked,  repeating  the  word 
ever  again,  and  so  loudly  that  those  in  the  neighbouring 
rooms  must  have  heard  them. 

Was  I  watched  from  the  very  beginning?  Had  I  to 
cope,  at  the  very  outset,  with  a  man  worth  a  million,  the 
captain  of  a  band  of  cut-throats,  who  stood  at  no  devil's 
deed,  no  foul  work,  no  crime,  as  Martin  Hall's  death 
clearly  proved?  My  heart  ached  at  the  thought;  I  felt 
the  sweat  dropping  off  me;  I  stood  without  thought  of 
any  man ;  the  one  word  "watched"  singing  in  my  ears 
like  the  surging  of  a  great  sea.  And  I  had  forgotten  Rod- 
erick until  he  burst  into  my  room,  a  great  laugh  on  his 
lips,  and  a  telegram  in  his  hand  ;  but  he  stood  back  as  he 
saw  me,  and  went  pale,  as  I  must  have  been. 

"Great  Scott!"  he  said;  "what's  the  matter? — what 
are  you  doing?  We  leave  in  ten  minutes;  why  aren't  you 
ready?" 

The  excuse  gurgled  in  my  throat.  I  stammered  out 
something,  and  began  to  pack  as  though  pursued  by 


BY  THE  NIGHT  MAIL.  85 

Furies.     Then  I  put  him  off  by  asking  what  his  humour 
was  about.     He  laughed  again  at  the  question — 

"What  do  you  think?"  he  said;  "Mary's  arrived  all 
right." 

"Oh,  that's  good;  I  hope  she'll  like  Salisbury,"  I  re- 
plied, bundling  shirts,  collars,  and  coats  into  my  trunk 
with  indiscriminate  vigour. 

"Yes,  but  you  don't  wait  to  hear  the  end,"  he  con- 
tinued, with  a  great  xoar  of  laughter;  "she  isn't  at  Salis- 
bury at  all ;  she's  at  Plymouth,  on  board  the  Celsis.  She 
went  straight  down  there,  and  devil  a  bit  as  much  as  sent 
her  aunt  a  telegram!" 

I  rose  up  at  his  word,  and  looked  him  in  the  face. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "what  do  you  think? — you  don't 
seem  pleased." 

"I'm  not  pleased,"  I  said,  going  on  with  my  packing. 
"I  don't  think  she  ought  to  be  there." 

"  I  know  that ;  we've  talked  it  all  over,  but  when  I 
think  of  it,  I  don't  see  where  the  harm  comes  in;  we 
can't  meet  mischief  crossing  the  Atlantic,  and  when  the 
danger  does  begin  in  New  York,  I'll  see  she's  well  on  the 
lee-side  of  it." 

I  did  not  answer  him,  for  I  knew  that  which  he  did  not 
know.  Perhaps  he  began  to  think  that  he  did  not  do  well 
to  treat  the  matter  so  lightly,  for  he  was  mute  when  we 
entered  the  cab,  and  he  did  not  open  his  lips  until  we  were 
seated  in  the  night  mail  for  Plymouth.  The  compartment 
we  rode  in  was  reserved  for  us  as  he  had  wished ;  and, 
truth  to  tell,  we  neither  of  us  had  much  liking  for  talk  as 
the  train  rolled  smoothly  westward.  We  had  entered 
upon  this  undertaking,  so  vast,  so  shadowy,  so  momentous, 
with  such  haste,  and  moved  by  such  powerful  motives,  that 


86  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

I  know  not  if  some  thought  of  sorrow  did  not  then  touch 
us  both.  Who  could  say  if  we  should  live  to  tell  the  tale, 
if  our  fate  would  not  be  the  fate  of  Martin  Hall,  if  we 
should  ever  so  much  as  see  the  nameless  ship,  if  chance 
would  ever  bring  us  face  to  face  with  Captain  Black? 
And  whither  did  we  go?  When  should  we  set  foot  again 
in  that  England  we  loved  ?  God  alone  could  tell ;  and, 
with  one  great  hope  in  a  guiding  and  all-seeing  Providence, 
I  covered  myself  up  in  my  rug.  and  slept  until  dawn  came, 
and  the  fresh  breezes  from  the  Channel  waves  brought 
new  strength  and  men's  hearts  to  us  again. 

It  was  full  day  when  we  went  on  board  the  yacht,  and 
I  did  not  fail  to  cast  a  quick  glance  of  admiration  on  her 
beautiful  lines  and  perfect  shape  as  I  clambered  up  the 
ladder,  at  the  top  of  which  stood  Captain  York. 

"Welcome  aboard,"  he  said,  giving  us  hearty  hand- 
shakes; and  without  further  inspection  at  that  hour  we 
followed  him  to  the  cabin,  where  steaming  coffee  brought 
the  blood  to  our  hands  and  feet,  and  put  us  in  better  mood. 

"So  my  sister's  here,"  said  Roderick,  as  he  filled  his 
cup  for  the  third  time. 

"Yes,  last  night,  no  orders,"  jerked  the  skipper  with  his 
usual  brevity. 

"Ah,  we  must  see  to  that — and  the  second  officer 

"Still  ashore;  he  left  a  bit  of  writing;  he'll  be  aboard 
midday!" 

He  had  the  writing  in  his  hand,  and  was  about  to 
crumple  it,  but  I  caught  sight  of  it,  and  snatched  it  from 
him.  It  was  in  the  same  handwriting  as  the  letter  which 
Captain  Black  had  sent  to  me  at  the  Hotel  Scribe  in 
Paris. 

"What's  the  matter?"  said  Roderick,  as  he  heard  me 


THE  MATTER  OF  THE  HAXDWR1TIXG.  87 

exclaim ;  but  the  skipper  looked  hard  at  me,  and  was  much 
mystified. 

"Do  you  know  anything  of  the  man?"  he  asked  very 
slowly,  as  he  leant  back  in  his  chair,  but  I  had  already  seen 
the  folly  of  my  ejaculation,  and  1  replied — 

"Nothing  at  all,  although  I  have  seen  that  handwriting 
before  somewhere ;  I  could  tell  you  where,  perhaps,  if  I 
thought." 

Roderick  nodded  his  head  meaningly,  and  deftly  turned 
the  subject.  I  yawned  with  a  great  yawn,  and  the  episode 
passed  as  we  both  rose  to  go  to  our  cabins.  It  is  not  well 
to  greet  the  w-aking  day  with  eyes  that  are  half-closed  in 
sleep ;  and,  although  the  skipper  seemed  to  desire  some 
fuller  knowledge  as  to  the  ends  of  our  cruise  and  the 
course  of  it,  we  put  him  oft,  and  left  him  to  the  coffee  and 
the  busy  work  of  the  final  preparation.  But  Roderick 
followed  me  to  my  berth  and  Lad  the  matter  of  the  hand- 
writing out.  I  told  him  at  once  of  the  robbery  of  some  of 
the  papers,  and  the  coincidence  of  the  letter  which  the 
second  irate  had  left  with  the  skipper.  He  was  quick- 
witted enough  to  see  the  danger;  but  he  was  quite  reckless 
in  the  methods  he  proposed  to  meet  it. 

"There's  no  two  thoughts  about  this  matter  at  all,"  he 
said;  "we've  evidently  run  right  into  a  trap,  but  luckily 
there's  time  to  get  out  again— of  course  we  shall  sail  with- 
out a  second  mate?" 

"That's  one  way  out  of  the  hole,  no  doubt;  but  it's  very 
serious  to  find  that  our  very  first  move  in  the  matter  is 
known  to  others.  Hall  said  well  that  his  diamond-buyer 
could  command  and  be  obeyed  in  ten  cities:  and  there  isn't 
much  question  that  we've  got  one  of  his  men  aboard  this 
ship — but  I  don't  know  that  we  shouldn't  keep  him." 


88  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Keep  him!  What  for? — to  watch  everything  we  do, 
and  hear  everything  we  say,  and  arrange  for  the  cutting  of 
our  throats  when  we  land  at  New  York?  You've  a  fine 
notion  of  diplomacy,  Mark!" 

"Perhaps  so;  but  we  won't  quarrel  about  that.  There's 
one  thing  you  forgot  in  this  little  calculation  of  yours — our 
men  are  as  true  as  steel;  this  rogue  couldn't  turn  one  of 
them  if  he  staked  his  life  on  it.  Suppose  he  has  come  here 
to  use  his  eyes,  and  hang  about  keyholes;  well,  we  know 
him,  fortunately;  and  what  can  he  learn  unless  he  learns 
it  from  you  or  me?  There's  not  another  soul  aboard 
knows  anything.  You  will  tell  the  skipper  that  we  cross  to 
America  for  a  pleasure  trip;  you  will  help  me  to  keep  so 
close  an  eye  on  Master  Francis  Paolo,  second  mate,  that  if 
he  lose  a  hair  of  his  head  we  shall  know  it.  In  that  way  it 
may  turn  out  that  we  shall  get  from  him  the  link  which  is 
lost  in  the  chain ;  and  when  he  would  draw  us,  we  shall 
pump  him  as  dry  as  a  sand-pit.  At  least,  that's  my  way  of 
thinking,  and  I  don't  think  it's  such  a  poor  notion  after 
all." 

"It's  not  poor  at  all — it  never  came  to  me  like  that. 
Of  course,  you're  right ;  let's  take  the  man  aboard,  but  I 
wish  we  could  have  left  Mary  behind — don't  you?" 

That  I  did,  but  what  could  I  tell  him?  It  was  bad 
enough  to  be  hugging  all  those  fears  and  thoughts  of 
danger  to  my  own  heart,  without  setting  him  all  a-ferment 
with  apprehension  and  unrest;  so  I  laughed  off  his  question 
and  after  a  six  hours'  sleep  I  went  aft  to  the  quarter- 
deck, to  take  stock  of  the  yacht  and  get  some  better  ac- 
quaintance with  her. 

She  was  a  finely-built  ship  of  some  seven  hundred  tons; 
and  was  schooner-rigged,  so  that  she  could  either  sail  or 


MARY   EXPLAINS.  89 

steam.  Her  engines  were  unusually  large  for  so  small  a 
vessel,  being  triple-compound ;  while  the  main  saloon,  aft, 
and  the  small  library  attached  to  it,  showed  in  the  luxuri- 
ous fitting  that  her  late  owner  had  been  a  man  of  fine  taste. 
In  the  very  centre  of  her,  there  was  a  deck-house  for  the 
chart-room,  the  skipper's  and  engineers'  quarters,  and  for  a 
couple  of  spare  cabins;  but  generally  the  accommodation 
was  below,  there  being  three  small  cabins  with  two  berths 
apiece  each  side  the  saloon,  and  room  for  the  steward  and 
his  men  amidships.  The  fo'castle  was  large  and  airy,  giv- 
ing ample  berthing  for  the  stokers  and  seamen;  while  the 
whole  ornament  of  the  deck  was  bright-looking  with  brass, 
and  smart  rails,  and  pots  of  flowers,  these  last  showing 
clearly  that  Mary  had  been  at  work.  Indeed,  I  had  scarce 
made  my  inspection  of  our  new  ship  when  she  burst  up 
from  below,  and  began  her  explanation,  standing  with 
flushed  cheeks,  while  the  wind  played  in  her  hair,  and  her 
eyes  danced  with  the  merriment  of  it. 

"Come  aboard,"  she  said,  mocking  the  seaman's  "Ad 
sum"  and  I  said — 

"That's  evident;  the  question  is,  when  are  you  going 
ashore  again?" 

"I  don't  know,  but  I  guess  I'll  get  ashore  at  New  York 
because  I  mean  to  go  to  Niagara — — " 

"You  think  you'll  go  ashore  at  New  York,  not  {y°u 
guess/  Mary." 

"But  I  do  guess,  and  I  don't  think,  and  I  wish  you 
wouldn't  interrupt  me  with  your  perpetual  grammar. 
What's  the  good  of  grammar?  No  one  had  a  good  time 
with  grammar  yet." 

"That's  not  exactly  the  purpose  of  grammar " 

"No,  nor  cf  orthography,  nor  deportment;  I  learnt  all 


90  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

these  at  a  guinea  a  quarter  extra  when  I  was  at  school,  so 
you're  just  wasting  your  time,  because  I'm  finished." 

"Finished?" 

"Yes,  didn't  Roderick  tell  you  that  I  went  to  a  finish- 
ing school?  You  wouldn't  finish  me  all  over  again,  would 
you?" 

"Not  for  anything — but  the  question  is,  why  did  you 
come  aboard  here,  and  why  didn't  you  go  to  Salisbury? 
What  is  your  old  aunt  thinking  now  ?" 

She  laughed  saucily,  throwing  back  her  head  so  that  her 
hair  fell  well  about  her  shoulders;  and  then  she  would  have 
answered  me,  but  I  turned  round,  hearing  a  step,  and  there 
stood  our  new  second  mate,  Francis  Paolo.  Our  eyes  met 
at  once  with  a  long,  searching  gaze,  but  he  did  not  flinch. 
If  he  were  a  spy,  he  was  no  poor  actor,  and  he  stood  his 
ground  without  the  movement  of  a  muscle. 

"Well?"  I  said. 

"Is  Mr.  Stewart  awake  yet,  sir?"  he  said,  asking  for 
Roderick. 

"I  don't  know,  but  you  may  wake  him  if  he  isn't." 

"The  skipper  wants  a  word  with  him  when  he  gets  up," 
he  continued;  "we  are  all  ready  to  heave  anchor  when  he 
speaks." 

"That's  all  right:  I'll  give  you  the  word,  so  you  can 
weigh  now ;  perhaps,  Mary,  you'll  go  and  hammer  at 
Roderick's  door,  or  he'll  sleep  until  breakfast  time  to- 
morrow." 

She  ran  at  the  word,  and  the  new  second  mate  turned 
to  go,  but  first  he  followed  the  girl  with  his  eyes,  earnestly, 
ar  though  he  looked  upon  some  all-fascinating  picture. 

1  watched  him  walk  forward,  and  followed  him.  listr:?- 
jng  as  he  directed,  the  men ;  a.n.4  a  more  seaman-like,  felloe 


VL,  JNCHOR1"  91 

I  have  never  seen.  If  he  were  an  Italian,  he  had  left  all 
accent  of  speech  in  his  own  country,  and  he  gave  his  orders 
smartly  and  in  a  tone  which  demanded  obedience.  About 
his  seamanship  I  never  had  a  doubt  from  the  first;  and  I 
say  this  now,  a  more  capable  officer  than  Francis  Paolo 
never  took  a  watch. 

Yet  he  was  a  man  of  violent  temper,  soon  displayed 
before  me. 

As  I  watched  him  from  the  hurricane  deck,  I  heard  a 
collier  who  had  not  yet  left  the  ship  give  him  some  im- 
pudence, and  look  jauntily  to  the  men  for  approval;  but 
the  smile  was  not  off  his  cheeks  when  the  new  mate  hit 
him  such  a  terrific  blow  on  the  head  with  a  spy-glass  he 
held  that  the  fellow  reeled  through  the  open  bulwarks 
right  into  his  barge,  which  lay  alongside. 

"That's  to  set  your  face  straight,"  cried  the  mate  after 
him;  "next  time  you  laugh  aboard  here  I'll  balance  you 
on  the  other  side.'' 

The  men  were  hushed  before  a  display  of  temper  like 
this;  the  skipper  on  the  bridge  flushed  red  with  dis- 
approval, but  said  nothing. 

The  order  "Hands  heave  anchor!"  was  sung  out  a 
moment  after,  and  as  Roderick  joined  me  aft,  the  new 
Celsis  steamed  away  from  Plymouth  and  the  episode  was 
forgotten. 

For  truly,  as  we  lost  sight  of  the  town  and  the  beautiful 
yacht  moved  slowly  out  upon  the  broader  bosom  of  the 
Channel,  thoughts  of  great  moment  held  us;  and  I,  for 
my  part,  fell  to  wondering  if  I  should  ever  see  the  face  of 
my  country  again. 

And  in  that  hour  the  great  pursuit  began. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

I  DREAM   OF   PAOLO. 

WE  had  left  the  Scilly  Light  two  days ;  the  Celsis  steamed 
steadily  on  the  great  broad  of  the  Atlantic.  Night  had 
fallen,  and  Mary  had  gone  below,  leaving  me  with  Rod- 
erick upon  the  aft-deck,  watching  the  veriest  rim  of  a 
moon  which  gave  no  pretence  of  a  picture,  no  ornament 
to  the  dark. 

It  was  Paolo's  watch ;  and  the  skipper  had  turned  in,  so 
that,  save  for  the  occasional  striking  of  a  bell  or  call  from 
the  look-out,  no  sound  but  the  whirring  of  the  screw  and 
the  surge  of  the  swell  fell  upon  the  ear.  A  night  for 
dreamy  thoughts  of  home,  of  kinsfolk,  of  the  more  tender 
things  of  life;  but  for  us  a  night  for  the  talk  of  that  great 
"might  be"  which  was  then  so  powerful  a  source  of  specu- 
lation for  both  of  us.  And  we  were  eager  to  talk,  eager 
then  as  ever  since  the  beginning  of  it  all ;  eager,  above  all 
things  of  the  moment,  to  know  when  we  should  next 
hear  of  Captain  Black  or  of  the  nameless  ship. 

"I  shouldn't  wonder,"  said  Roderick  after  twenty  sur- 
mises of  the  sort,  "if  we  heard  something  of  her  as  we 
cross.  I  have  given  York  orders  to  keep  well  in  the  track 
of  steamers;  and  if  your  friend  Hall  be  right,  that  is  just 
where  the  unknown  ship  will  keep.  I  would  give  a  thou- 
sand pounds  to  know  the  story  of  the  man  Black.  What 
can  he  be?  Is  he  mad?  Is  it  possible  that  a  man  could 
commit  piracy,  to-day,  in  the  Atlantic,  where  is  the  traffic 
of  the  world ;  where,  if  the  Powers  once  learnt  of  it,  they 


TIME  ALONE  WILL  TELL.  93 

could  hunt  him  down  in  a  day?  And  yet,  put  into  plain 
English,  that  is  the  tale  your  friend  tells." 

"It  is;  I  have  never  doubted  that  from  the  first.  Cap- 
tain Black  is  either  the  most  original  villain  living,  or  the 
whole  story  is  a  silly  dream — besides,  we  have  yet  to  learn 
if  he  is  the  commander  of  the  nameless  ship :  we  have  also 
to  learn  if  the  nameless  ship  is  not  a  myth.  Time  alone 
will  tell,  and  our  wits." 

"If  they  are  not  knocked  out  of  us  in  the  attempt,  for, 
see  you,  Mark,  a  man  with  a  hole  in  his  head  is  a  precious 
poor  person,  and,  of  course,  you  are  prepared  either  way, 
success  or  the  other  thing." 

"For  either;  but  I  trust  one  of  us  may  come  out  of  it, 
for  Mary's  sake." 

The  thought  made  him  very  silent,  and  presently  he 
turned  in.  I  remained  above  for  half  an  hour,  gazing  over 
the  great  sweep  of  the  Atlantic.  Paolo  was  on  the  bridge, 
as  I  have  said,  and,  in  accordance  with  my  design,  I  took 
all  opportunity  of  watching  him.  That  night  some  inex- 
plicable impulse  held  me  awake  when  all  others  slept.  I 
made  pretence,  first  of  all,  to  go  to  my  cabin ;  and  bawled  a 
good  night  to  the  mate  as  I  went;  but  it  was  only  to  put 
on  felt  slippers  and  to  get  a  warm  coat,  and,  with  these 
secured,  I  made  my  way  stealthily  amidships;  and  took  a 
stand  aft  of  the  skipper's  cabin,  where  I  could  pry,  yet  not 
be  seen.  Not  that  I  got  much  for  my  pains;  but  I  heard 
Paolo  address  several  of  the  men  forward,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  his  mode  of  speech  was  not  quite  that  which  should 
be  between  officer  and  seaman.  Perchance  he  was  guilty 
of  nothing  more  than  common  affability ;  but  yet  I  would 
rather  have  had  him  gruff  and  meddlesome  than  free  and 
intimate. 


94  THE  SHADOW  OX  THE  SEA. 

It  chanced  that  in  this  watch  the  new  men  were  on 
deck,  my  old  crew  being  in  the  port  watch,  or  I  would 
have  questioned  them  there  and  then.  As  it  was,  I  let  the 
matter  go,  and  smoked  ;  and,  indeed,  when  another  bell 
had  struck,  I  was  more  than  rewarded  for  my  pains. 
Suddenly,  on  the  far  horizon  over  the  starboard  bow,  I  saw 
the  flare  of  a  blue  light,  bright  over  the  water;  and  show- 
ing as  it  flared,  the  dark  hull  of  a  great  ship.  The  light 
was  unmistakably,  I  thought,  the  signal  of  an  ocean-going 
steamer  which  had  sighted  another  of  her  company  still 
farther  away  from  us;  but  I  had  no  more  than  time  to 
come  to  this  conclusion  when,  to  my  profound  amazement, 
Paolo  himself  struck  light  to  a  flare  which  he  had  with  him 
on  the  bridge,  and  answered  the  signal,  our  own  light 
showing  far  out,  and  lighting  the  great  moving  sea  on 
which  we  rode  so  that  one  could  count  every  crest  about 
us. 

This  action  completely  staggered  me.  Without  a 
thought  I  rushed  up  the  ladder  to  the  hurricane  deck  and 
stood  beside  him.  He  started  as  he  saw  me,  and  I  could 
see  him  biting  his  lips,  while  an  ugly  look  came  into  his 
eyes.  But  I  charged  him  at  once. 

"Good  evening,  Mister  Mate,"  I  said  ;  "will  you  kindly 
tell  me  why  you  burnt  that  blue  light?" 

His  excuse  came  readily. 

"I  burnt   it   to  answer   the  signal  yonder." 

"But  that  was  no  affair  of  ours!" 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  muttered  something 
about  custom  and  something  else,  which  he  meant  to  be 
impudent.  Yet  in  another  moment  he  made  effort  to  recall 
himself,  and  met  me  with  an  open,  smiling  face  which 
covered  anger.  I  began  to  upbraid  myself  for  the  folly  of 
it,  bursting  out  thus  when  there  was  no  call  for  show; 


A  GAME  OF  EAVESDROPPING.  95 

and  I  turned  the  talk  to  other  things,  searching  to  learn 
about  him  and  his  past;  yet  it  was  without  reward,  for 
he  fenced  in  speech  with  all  the  point  of  a  close  Scots- 
man. But  we  came  down  from  the  bridge  together  when 
the  new  watch  was  set ;  and  he  took  a  glass  of  wine  with 
me  in  the  saloon. 

It  was  all  well  acted,  a  fine  pretence  of  common  civility, 
yet  I  believe  that  we  two  then  took  acquaintance  of  each 
other  in  the  fullest  measure;  and  he  learnt,  though  he  did 
not  show  it,  that  in  the  game  of  eavesdropping  there  may 
be  two  that  play. 

When  I  turned  in  at  last,  the  little  wind  there  was  had 
fallen  away,  so  that  the  yacht  was  almost  without  motion; 
save,  indeed,  that  long  roll  from  which  an  ocean-going 
ship  is  rarely  free.  I  had  the  electric  light  in  my  cabin 
with  a  tap  on  the  edge  of  my  bunk,  mighty  convenient  for 
reading  and  waking;  but  I  was  full  of  sleep  in  spite  of 
what  had  been  above,  and  I  turned  out  the  lamp  directly 
I  fell  upon  my  bed. 

I  think  I  must  have  slept  very  heavily  for  an  hour, 
when  a  great  sense  of  unrest  and  waking  weariness  took 
me,  and  I  lay,  now  dozing,  now  dreaming,  so  that  in  all 
my  dreams  I  saw  the  face  of  Paolo.  I  seemed  to  walk 
the  decks  of  the  Celsis,  yet  was  Paolo  there  more  strong 
and  masterful  than  I ;  again  I  went  to  the  stoke-hole, 
and  he  was  charging  the  men  with  much  authority;  I 
hurried  thence  to  the  saloon,  and  in  my  silly  dream  I 
thought  to  see  Captain  Black  upon  the  one  hand  and 
Paolo  on  the  other,  and  a  great  friendship  of  manner  and 
discourse  between  them. 

Again  I  slept  the  black  sleep;  but  it  passed  into  other 
visions,  so  thaj;  in  one  qf  them  I  seemed  to  be  lying  awake 


96  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

in  my  own  cabin,  and  the  man  Paolo  stood  over  me,  look- 
ing straight  into  my  eyes;  and  when  I  would  have  risen  up 
to  question  him  I  was  powerless,  held  still  in  every  limb, 
living,  yet  without  life  or  speech — a  horrid  dream  from 
which  I  seemed  to  rouse  myself  only  at  the  touch  of  some- 
thing cold  upon  my  outstretched  hand ;  and  then  at  last  I 
ppened  my  eyes  and  saw,  during  the  veriest  reality  of  time 
that  others  looked  down  into  mine.  I  saw  them  for  some 
small  part  of  a  second,  yet  in  the  faint  light  that  came 
from  the  port  I  recognised  the  face  and  the  form,  and  was 
certain  of  them ;  for  the  man  who  had  been  watching  me  as 
I  slept  was  Paolo. 

A  quick  sense  of  danger  waked  me  thoroughly  then.  I 
put  my  hand  to  the  tap  of  the  electric  light  and  the  white 
rays  flooded  the  cabin.  But  the  cabin  was  empty  and 
Roderick's  dog  sat  by  my  trunk,  and  had,  I  could  see,  been 
licking  my  hand  as  I  lay. 

I  knew  not  how  to  make  out  the  meaning  of  it;  but  I 
was  trembling  from  the  horror  of  the  dream,  and  went 
aboye  in  my  flannels.  It  was  dawn  then;  and  day  was 
cpming  up  out  of  the  sea,  cold  and  bearing  mists,  which 
lay  low  over  the  long  restful  waves.  Dan  was  aft  on 
the  quarter-deck,  and  the  first  officer  was  on  the  bridge; 
but  J  looked  into  Paolo's  bunk,  and  he  slept  there,  in  so 
heavy  a  sleep  that  I  began  to  doubt  altogether  the 
truth  of  what  I  had  believed.  How  could  this  man 
have  left  my  cabin  as  he  had  done,  and  yet  now  be  berthed 
in  his  own?  The  dream  had  cheated  me,  as  dreams 
often  do. 

But  more  sleep  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  I  fell  to  talk 
with  Pan,  and  paced  the  deck  with  him,  asking  what  was 
his  opinion  of  our  new  second  mate. 


DAN  IS  DELIBERATE.  97 

He  scratched  his  head  before  he  answered,  and  looked 
wise  as  he  loved  to  look — 

"Lord,  sir,  it's  not  for  me  to  be  spoutin'  about  them  as 
is  above  me;  but  you  ask  me  a  fair  question,  and  I'll  give 
you  a  fair  answer.  In  course,  I  ain't  the  party  to  be 
thinking  ill  of  any  man — not  Dan,  which  is  plain  and 
English,  though  some  as  is  scholars  say  it  should  be 
Dan'el ;  but  what  I  do  know,  I  know — you  won't  be  con- 
tradictin'  that,  will  you?" 

I  told  him  to  get  on  with  it;  but  he  was  woefully 
deliberate,  cutting  tobacco  to  chew,  and  hitching  himself 
up  before  he  was  under  weigh  again. 

"Now,"  he  said  at  last,  "the  fact  about  our  second  is 
this,  in  my  opinion — which  ain't  mine,  but  the  whole  of 
'em — he's  no  more'n  a  ship  with  a  voice  under  the  fore- 
hatch " 

I  laughed  at  him  as  I  asked,  "And  what's  the  matter 
with  a  ship  like  that?  Why  shouldn't  there  be  a  voice 
under  the  fore-hatch,  Dan?" 

He  lit  his  pipe  behind  the  aft  skylight,  and  then  an- 
swered, as  he  puffed  clouds  of  smoke  to  the  lee-side — 

"Well,  you  see,  sir,  as  there  ain't  nobody  a-livin'  in 
that  perticler  place,  you  don't  go  for  to  look  to  hearin'  of 
voices,  or,  in  plain  lingo,  there's  something  queer  about 
it." 

"And  that's  your  opinion,  Dah?" 

"As  true  as  this  fog's  a-liftin'  to  windward." 

I  looked  as  he  jerked  his  thumb  to  port,  and,  sure 
enough,  the  curtain  of  the  fog  was  drawn  up  from  the  sea 
as  the  wind's  wand  scattered  it.  Glorious  and  joy-giving 
the  sun  arose,  and  the  whole  horizon-bound  expanse  of 
rolling,  green  water  lay  beneath  us.  There  is  something  of 
God  in  every  daybreak,  as  most  men  admit,  but  I  know 


98  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

nothing  against  the  glory  of  a  morn  upon  the  Atlantic  for 
bringing  home  to  a  man  the  delight  in  mere  existence.  The 
very  sense  of  strength  which  the  breeze  bears,  the  limitless 
deep  green  of  the  unmeasured  seas,  the  great  arch  of  the 
zenith,  the  clear  view  of  the  sun's  march,  the  purity  and  the 
stillness  and  the  mastery  of  it  all,  the  consciousness  of  the 
puny  power  of  man,  the  mind  message  recalling  the  sub- 
limity and  the  awe  of  the  unseen  Power  beyond — all  these 
things  impress  you,  move  in  you  the  deepest  thoughts,  turn 
you  from  the  little  estimates  of  self  as  Nature  only  can  in 
the  holiest  of  her  moods,  which  are  sought  yet  never  found 
in  the  cities.  Nor  can  I  ever  welcome  the  breath  of  the 
great  sea's  vigour,  and  refuse  to  listen  to  her  voice,  which 
con:es  with  so  powerful  a  message,  even  as  a  me;sage  from 
the  great  Unknown,  whose  hand  controls,  and  whose 
spirit  is  en,  the  waters. 

The  sound  of  a  gun-shot  to  leeward  awoke  me  from 
my  thoughts.  The  fog  was  yet  lying  there  upon  the  sea, 
and  for  some  while  none  of  us,  expectant  as  we  were, 
could  discern  aught.  But,  fearing  that  some  vessel  lay  in 
distress,  we  put  the  helm  up  and  went  half-speed  for  a 
time.  We  had  cruised  thus  for  five  minutes  or  more  when 
a  terrific  report  burst  upon  our  ears,  and  this  time  to  the 
alarm  of  every  man  who  trod  deck.  For  this  second  re- 
pcrt  was  not  that  of  a  small  gun  such  as  crippled  ships 
may  use,  but  tlie  thunderous  echoing  of  a  great  weapon 
which  a  man-of-war  only  could  carry. 

The  sound  died  away  slowly ;  but  in  the  same  minute 
the  fog  lifted  ;  and  I  saw.  away  a  mile  on  the  starboard 
bow,  a  spectacle  which  brought  a  great  flush  upon  my  face, 
and  let  me  hear  the  sound  of  my  own  heart  beating. 


99 


CHAPTER  IX. 

I  FALL  IN  WITH  THE   NAMELESS   SHIP. 

THERE  were  two  great  ships  abreast  of  each  other,  and 
they  were  steaming  with  so  great  a  pressure  of  steam  that 
the  dark  green  water  was  cleaved  into  two  huge  waves  of 
foam  before  their  bows ;  and  the  spray  ran  right  over  their 
fo'castles  and  fell  in  tons  upcn  their  decks. 

The  more  distant  of  the  two  ships  was  long  in  shape 
and  dark  in  colour;  she  had  four  masts  upon  which  top- 
sails and  staysails  were  set,  and  t\vo  funnels  painted  white, 
but  marked  with  the  anchor  which  clearly  set  her  down 
to  be  one  of  the  famous  Black  Anchor  fleet.  My  powerful 
spyglass  gave  me  a  full  view  of  her  decks,  which  I  saw 
to  be  dark  with  the  figures  of  passengers  and  crew  all 
crowding  to  the  port  side,  wherefrom  the  other  ship  was 
approaching  her. 

Yet  was  it  this  other  ship  which  drew  our  gaze  rather 
than  the  great  steamer  which  seemed  to  be  pursued.  Al- 
most of  the  same  length  as  the  passenger  steamer,  which 
she  now  approached  obliquely,  she  rode  the  long  swell 
with  perfect  grace,  and  many  of  her  deck-houses  and  part 
of  her  prow  shone  with  the  brightness  of  pure  gold.  Full 
the  sun  fell  upon  her  in  a  sheen  of  shimmering  splendour, 
throwing  great  reflected  lights  \\hich  dazzled  the  eye  so 
that  it  could  scarce  hold  any  continued  gaze  upon  her. 
And  indeed,  every  ornament  on  her  sremed  to  be  made  of 
the  precious  metal,  now  glowing  to  exceeding  brilliance 
in  the  full  power  of  the  sunlight. 

She  was  a  very  big  ship,  as  I  have  said,  and  she  had  all 


ioo          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

the  shape  of  a  ship  of  war,  while  the  turrets  fore  and  aft 
of  her  capacious  funnel  showed  the  muzzles  of  two  big 
guns.  I  could  see  by  my  glass  a  whole  wealth  of  arma- 
ment in  the  foretop  of  her  short  mast  forward ;  and  high 
points  in  her  fo'castle  marked  the  spot  where  many  other 
machine  guns  were  ready  for-  action.  At  her  towering 
and  lofty  prow  there  was  indicated  clearly  the  curve  of  the 
ram  which  now  ploughed  the  dark  water  and  curdled  it 
into  the  fountains  of  foam  which  fell  upon  her  decks; 
while  amidships,  the  outline  of  a  conning  tower  showed 
more  clearly  for  what  aggressive  purpose  she  had  been  de- 
signed. There  was  at  this  spot,  too,  a  great  deck  erection, 
with  a  gallery  and  a  bridge  for  navigation ;  but  no  men 
showed  upon  the  platform,  and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  no 
soul  trod  her  decks,  so  far  as  our  observation  went.  Yet 
her  speed  was  such  as  I  do  not  believe  any  ship  achieved 
before.  I  have  spent  many  years  upon  the  sea;  have 
crossed  the  Atlantic  in  some  of  the  most  speedy  of  those 
cruisers  which  are  the  just  pride  of  a  later-day  shipbuild- 
ing art;  I  have  raced  in  torpedo-boats  over  known  miles; 
but  of  this  I  have  no  measure  of  doubt,  that  the  speed 
of  which  that  extraordinary  vessel  then  proved  herself 
capable  was  such  as  no  other  that  ever  swam  could  for 
one  moment  cope  with.  Now  rising  majestically  on  the 
long  roll  of  the  swell,  now  falling  into  the  concave  of  the 
sea,  she  rushed  onward  towards  the  steamer  she  was  evi- 
dently pursuing  as  though  driven  by  all  the  furies  of  the 
deep. 

As  we  watched  her,  held  rooted  to  our  places  as  men 
who  are  looking  upon  some  strange  and  uncanny  picture, 
the  gun  in  her  foremost  turret  belched  out  flame  and 
smoke,  and  we  observed  the  rise  and  fall  of  a  shell,  which 


UNDER  THE  CHILIAN  FLAG.  101 

cut  the  water  a  cable's  length  ahead  of  the  straining 
steamer  and  sank  hissing  beneath  the  sea.  At  that  mo- 
ment she  ran  up  a  flag  upon  her  signal  mast,  and,  as  I 
read  it  with  my  glass,  I  saw  that  it  was  the  flag  of  the 
Chilian  Republic. 

Now,  indeed  the  pursuit  became  so  engrossing  that  my 
own  men  began  to  sing  out,  and  this  reminded  me  that 
every  soul  aboard  the  Celsis  had  watched  with  me  when 
I  first  set  eyes  on  the  nameless  ship.  I  turned  to  our 
skipper,  who  stood  near  on  the  hurricane  deck,  and  saw 
that  he  in  turn  was  looking  hard  at  me.  Roderick  had 
come  up  from  his  cabin,  but  rested  at  the  top  of  the  com- 
panion ladder  in  so  dazed  a  mood  that  no  speech  came 
from  him.  The  first  officer  had  scarce  his  wits  about  him 
to  steer  our  own  course,  and  the  whole  of  the  hands  for- 
ward in  a  little  group  upon  the  fo'castle  now  called  out 
their  views,  then  turned  to  ask  what  it  meant. 

It  was  a  matter  of  satisfaction  to  me  that  Mary  still 
slept,  and  I  looked  for  the  appearance  of  Paolo  with  some 
question.  But  he  remained  below  through  it  all.  And  at 
that  I  wondered  more. 

The  skipper  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"That  ship  yonder,"  said  he,  jerking  his  thumb  to  star- 
board;  "is  it  any  business  of  ours?" 

"None  that  I  know  of,"  I  replied;  "but  it's  a  mighty 
fine  sight,  skipper,  don't  you  think,  a  Chilian  war-ship 
running  after  a  liner  in  broad  daylight?  What's  your 
opinion?" 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  disdainfully,  and  took  an- 
other sight  through  his  glass.  Then  he  answered  me — 

"It's  a  fine  sight  enough,  God  knows,  but  I  would  give 
half  I'm  worth  to  be  a  hundred  miles  away  from  it;"  and 


102  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

here  he  suddenly  wheeled  about,  and,  facing  me  roughly, 
he  asked — 

"Do  you  want  me  to  get  this  boat  into  port  again?" 

"Of  course.  Is  there  any  great  need  to  answer  a  ques- 
tion like  that?" 

"At  the  moment,  yes;  for,  with  your  pleasure,  I'm 
going  to  put  up  the  helm  and  sheer  off.  I'm  not  a  man 
that  loves  fighting  myself,  and,  with  a  ship  and  crew  to 
look  after,  I've  no  business  in  any  affair  of  that  sort;  but 
it's  for  you  to  say." 

Before  I  could  answer  him,  Roderick  moved  from  his 
place,  and  came  up  on  the  bridge  where  we  stood. 

"Hold  on  a  bit,  skipper,"  he  cried,  "as  we  are,  if  you 
please;  why,  man,  it's  a  sight  I  wouldn't  miss  for  a  for- 
tune." 

The  skipper  searched  him  with  his  eyes  with  a  keen, 
lasting  gaze,  that  implied  his  doubt  of  the  pair  of  us.  His 
voice  had  a  fine  ring  of  sarcasm  in  it  when  he  replied  after 
the  silence;  but  all  he  said  was,  "It's  your  affair,"  and 
then  he  turned  to  the  first  officer. 

"Don't  ycu  think  he  was  right?"  I  asked  Roderick  in 
a  low  voice,  when  the  chief's  back  was  turned,  but  he 
•whispered  again — 

"Not  yet — we  must  see  more  of  it;  and  they're  too 
much  occupied  to  hunt  after  us.  We'll  be  away  lon^ 
before  those  two  have  settled  accounts;  and,  look  now,  I 
can  see  a  man  on  the  bridge  of  the  yellow  ship.  Do  you 
mark  him?" 

I  had  my  glass  to  my  eye  in  a  moment,  and  the  light 
was  so  full  upon  the  vessel,  which  must  then  have  been  a 
mile  and  a  half  away  from  us,  that  I  could  prove  hi? 
words;  for  sure  enough,  there  was  now  someone  mov.'n,: 
upon  the  bridge,  and,  as  I  fixed  my  powerful  lens,  I 


A   TERRIBLE  POWER.  103 

thought  that  I  could  recognise  the  shape  of  a  man;  but 
I  would  not  speak  my  mind  to  Roderick  until  I  had  a 
nearer  view. 

"You  are  right,"  I  answered;  "but  what  sort  of  a  man 
I  will  tell  ycu  presently.  Did  you  ever  see  anything  like 
the  pace  that  big  ship  is  showing?  She  must  be  moving  at 
twenty-five  knots/' 

"Yes,  it's  amazing;  and,  what's  more,  there  isn't  a  show 
of  smoke  at  her  funnel." 

This  was  true,  but  I  had  not  noticed  it.  Throughout 
the  strange  scene  we  saw,  this  vessel  of  mystery  never  gave 
one  sign  that  men  worked  at  her  furnaces  below.  Neither 
steam  nor  smoke  came  from  her,  no  evidence,  even  the 
most  trifling,  of  that  terrible  power  which  was  then  driv- 
ing her  through  the  seas  at  such  a  fearful  speed. 

But  of  the  activity  of  her  human  crew  we  had  speedily 
further  sign ;  for,  almost  as  I  answered,  there  was  some 
belching  of  flame  from  her  turret,  and  this  time  the  shell, 
hurtling  through  the  air  with  that  hissing  song  which 
every  gunner  knows  so  well,  crashed  full  upon  the  fore- 
part of  the  great  liner,  and  we  heard  the  shout  of  terror 
which  rose  from  those  upon  her  decks.  Then  men  ap- 
peared at  the  signal-mast  of  the  pursuer,  and  rapidly  made 
signals  in  the  common  code. 

"Skipper,  do  you  see  that? — they're  signalling,"  I  cried 
out.  "Get  your  glass  up,  and  take  a  sight;"  but  he  had 
already  done  so. 

"It's  the  signal  to  lie  to,  and  wait  a  boat,"  he  said; 
"there's  someone  going  aboard." 

The  fulfilment  of  the  reading  was  instant.  While  yet 
we  had  not  realised  that  the  onward  rush  of  the  two  boats 
was  stayed  the  foam  fell  away  from  their  bows;  and  they 


104          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

rode  the  seas  superbly,  sitting  the  long  swells  with  a  beau- 
tiful ease.  But  there  was  activity  on  the  deck  of  the  name- 
less ship,  and  men  were  at  the  davits  on  the  starboard  side 
swinging  off  a  launch,  which  dropped  presently  into  the 
sea  with  a  crew  of  some  half-a-dozen  men.  For  ourselves, 
we  were  now  quite  close  up  to  them,  but  so  busily  were 
they  occupied  that  I  believed  we  had  escaped  all  notice. 
Yet  I  got  my  glass  full  upon  the  man  who  walked  the 
bridge;  and  I  knew  him. 

He  was  the  man  I  had  met  in  the  Rue  Joubert  at 
Paris,  the  one  styled  Captain  Black  by  my  friend  Mall. 

The  last  link  in  the  long  chain  was  welded  then.  The 
whole  truth  of  that  weird  document,  so  fantastical,  so 
seerfiingly  wild,  so  fearful,  was  made  manifest ;  the  dead 
man's  words  were  vindicated,  his  every  deduction  was 
unanswerable.  There  on  the  great  Atlantic  waste,  I  had 
lived  to  see  one  of  those  terrible  pictures  which  he  had  con- 
ceived in  the  midst  of  his  long  dreaming;  and  through 
all  the  excitement,  above  all  the  noise,  I  thought  that  I 
heard  his  voice  and  the  grim  "Ahoys!"  of  my  own  sea- 
men on  the  night  he  had  died. 

This  strange  recoghition  was  unknown  to  Roderick, 
who  had  never  seen  Captain  Black,  nor  had  any  notion  of 
his  appearance.  But  he  waited  for  some  remark  from  me ; 
yet,  fearing  to  be  heard,  I  only  looked  at  him  and  in  that 
look  he  read  all. 

"Mark,"  he  said,  "it's  time  to  go;  we'll  be  the  next 
\vhen  that  ship's  at  the  bottom." 

"My  God!"  I  answered,  "he  can't  do  such  a  thing  as 
that.  If  I  thought  so,  I  would  stand  by  here  at  the  risk 
of  a  thousand  lives " 

"That's  wild   talk.     What   can   we   do?      He  would 


THE  BLACK  STEAMER.  105 

shiver  us  up  with  one  of  his  machine-guns — and,  besides, 
we  have  Mary  on  board." 

Indeed,  she  stood  by  us  as  we  spoke,  very  pale  and 
quiet,  looking  where  the  two  ships  lay  motionless,  the  boat 
from  the  one  now  at  the  very  side  of  the  black  steamer, 
whose  name,  the  Ocean  King,  we  could  plainly  read.  She 
had,  unnoticed  by  us,  seen  the  work  of  the  last  shell,  which 
splintered  the  groaning  vessel,  and  made  her  reel  upon  the 
water;  and  her  instinct  told  her  that  we  stood  where 
danger  was. 

"Don't  you  think  you're  better  below,  Mary?"  asked 
Roderick;  but  she  had  her  old  answer — 

"Not  until  you  go;  and  why  should  I  make  any  dif- 
ference? I  overheard  what  you  said.  Am  I  to  stand  be- 
tween you  and  those  men's  lives?" 

She  clung  to  my  arm  as  she  spoke,  and  her  boldness 
gave  us  new  courage. 

"I  am  for  standing  by  to  the  end,"  said  I;  "if  we  save 
one  soul,  it's  an  English  work  to  do,  anyway." 

Roderick  looked  at  Mary,  then  he  turned  to  the 
skipper — 

"Do  you  wish  to  go  on  the  other  tack  now?"  he  asked; 
but  the  skipper  was  himself  again. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "it's  your  yacht,  and  these  are 
your  men;  if  you  care  to  keep  them  afloat,  keep  them.  If 
it's  your  fancy  to  do  the  other  thing,  why,  do  it.  It's  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  me." 

His  words  were  heard  by  all  the  hands,  and  from  that 
time  there  was  something  of  a  clamour  amongst  them ; 
but  I  stepped  forward  to  have  out  what  was  in  my  mind, 
and  they  heard  me  quietly. 

"Men,"  I  said,  "there's  ugly  work  over  there,  work 


106          THE  SHADOW  OX  THE  SEA. 

which  I  can  make  nothing  of;  but  it's  clear  that  an  Eng- 
lish ship  ij  running  from  a  foreigner,  and  may  want  help. 
Shall  we  leave  her,  or  shall  we  stand  by?" 

They  gave  a  great  shout  at  this,  and  the  skipper  touched 
the  bell,  which  stopped  our  engines.  We  lay  then  quite 
near  both  to  the  pursued  and  the  pursuer,  and  there  was 
no  longer  any  doubt  that  we  had  been  seen. 

Glasses  were  turned  upon  us  from  the  decks  of  the 
yellow  ship,  and  from  the  poop  of  the  Ocean  King,  whose 
men  were  still  busy  with  the  signal  flags,  and  this  time,  as 
we  made  out,  in  a  direct  request  to  us  that  we  should 
stand  by. 

I  doubt  not  that  the  excitement  and  the  danger  of  the 
position  alcne  nerved  us  to  this  work  of  amazing  fool- 
hardiness,  which  was  so  like  to  have  ended  in  our  complete 
undoing;  and,  as  I  watched  the  captain  of  the  steamer 
parleying  with  the  men  in  the  launch  below  him,  1  could 
not  but  ask — What  next?  when  will  our  turn  be? 

But  the  scene  was  destined  to  end  in  a  way  altogether 
different  from  what  we  had  anticipated. 

While  a  tall  man  with  fair  hair — my  glass  gave  me  the 
impression  that  he  was  the  fellow  known  as  "Roaring 
John" — stcod  in  the  bows  of  the  launch,  and  appeared  to 
be  gesticulating  wildly  to  the  skipper  of  the  Ocean  King, 
the  nameless  ship  set  up  of  a  sudden  a  great  shrieking  with 
her  deck  whistle,  which  she  blew  three  times  with  terrific 
power ;  and  at  the  third  sound  of  it  the  launch,  which  had 
been  holding  to  the  side  of  the  steamer,  let  go,  running 
rapidly  back  to  the  armed  vessel,  where  it  was  taken 
aboard  again. 

The  whole  thing  was  done  in  so  short  a  space  of  time 
that  our  men  scarce  had  opportunity  to  express  surprise 
when  the  launch  was  hanging  at  the  davits  again.  The 


ANOTHER  CRUISER.  107 

great  activity  that  we  had  observed  on  the  decks  of  the 
war-vessel  ceased  as  mysteriously  as  it  had  begun.  Again 
there  was  no  sign  of  living  being  about  her;  but  she 
moved  at  once,  and  bounded  past  us  at  a  speed  the  like  to 
which  I  had  never  seen  upon  the  deep. 

So  remarkable  a  face-about  seemed  to  dumbfound  our 
men.  They  stood  staring  at  each  other  like  those  amazed, 
and  seeking  explanation.  But  the  key  to  the  riddle  was 
given,  not  by  one  of  them,  but  by  Paolo,  whom  I  now 
found  at  my  elbow,  his  usually  placid  face  all  aglow  with 
excitement. 

"Ha!"  he  cried,  "she's  American!" 

He  made  a  wild  point  at  the  far  horizon  over  our  stern ; 
and  then  I  saw  what  troubled  him.  There  was  a  great 
white  steamer  coming  up  at  a  high  speed,  and  I  knew  the 
form  of  her  at  once,  and  of  two  others  that  followed  her. 
She  was  one  of  the  American  navy,  crossing  to  her  own 
country  from  Europe,  whither  she  had  been  to  watch  the 
British  manoeuvres.  The  secret  of  the  flight  was  no  longer 
inexplicable:  the  yellow  ship  had  fled  from  the  trap  into 
which  she  was  so  nearly  falling. 

"You  have  sharp  eyes,  Paolo,"  said  I;  "I  imagine  it's 
lucky  for  the  pair  of  us." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  angrily,  and  then  said  very 
meaningly — 

"Perhaps." 

I  had  no  time  to  reckon  with  him,  for  I  was  as  much 
absorbed  as  he  was  in  the  scene  which  followed.  The 
nameless  ship,  of  a  sudden,  ceased  her  flight,  and  came  al- 
most to  a  stand  some  half-a-mile  away  on  our  port-bow. 
For  a  moment  her  purpose  was  hidden,  yet  only  for  a  mo- 
ment. As  she  swung  round  to  head  the  seas,  I  saw  at  once 
that  another  cruiser,  long  and  white,  and  seemingly  well- 


io8  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

armed  had  come  up  upon  that  side,  and  now  barred  her 
passage.  At  last,  she  was  to  cope  with  one  worthy  of  her, 
and  at  the  promise  of  battle,  a  hush,  awful  in  its  intensity, 
fell  upon  all  of  us. 

For  some  minutes  the  two  vessels  lay,  the  one  broadside 
to  the  other,  the  American  making  signals  which  were 
unanswered;  but  the  nameless  ship  had  now  hundreds  of 
men  about  her  decks,  and  these  were  at  the  machine-guns 
and  elsewhere  active  in  preparation.  It  became  plain  that 
her  captain  had  made  up  his  mind  to  some  plan,  for  the 
great  hull  swung  round  slowly,  and  passed  at  a  moderate 
speed  past  the  bow  of  the  other.  When  she  was  nearly 
clear,  her  two  great  guns  were  fired  almost  simultaneously, 
and,  as  the  shells  swept  along  the  deck  of  the  cruiser,  they 
carried  men  and  masts  and  deck-houses  with  them,  in  one 
devilish  confusion  of  wreckage  and  of  death.  To  such  an 
onslaught  there  was  no  answer.  The  cruiser  was  utterly 
unprepared  for  the  treachery,  and  lay  reeling  on  the  sea; 
screams  and  fearful  cries  coming  from  her  decks,  now 
quivering  under  a  torrent  of  fire  as  her  opponent  treated 
her  to  the  hail  of  her  machine-guns. 

The  battle  could  have  ended  but  in  one  way,  had  not 
the  other  American  war-ships  now  come  so  close  to  us  that 
they  opened  fire  with  their  great  guns.  The  huge  shells 
hissed  over  our  heads,  and  all  about  us,  plunging  into  the 
sea  with  such  mighty  concussions  that  fountains  of  green 
water  arose  in  twenty  places,  and  the  near  surface  of  the 
Atlantic  became  turbulent  with  foam.  Such  a  powerful 
onslaught  could  have  been  resisted  by  no  single  vessel,  and, 
seeing  that  he  was  like  to  be  surrounded,  the  captain  of  the 
nameless  ship,  which  had  already  been  struck  three  times 
in  her  armour,  fired  twice  from  his  turrets,  and  then 


"NOTHING  LESS  THAN  PIRACY."      109 

headed  off  at  that  prodigious  speed  he  had  shown  in  the  be- 
ginning of  his  flight.  In  five  minutes  he  was  out  of  gun- 
shot; in  ten,  the  American  vessels  were  taking  men  from 
their  crippled  cruiser,  whose  antagonists  had  almost  dis- 
appeared on  the  horizon! 

Upon  our  own  decks  the  noise  and  hubbub  were  almost 
deafening.  From  a  state  of  nervous  tension  and  doubt 
our  men  had  passed  to  a  state  of  joy.  Half  of  them  were 
for  going  aboard  the  damaged  vessels  at  once;  half  for 
getting  under  weigh  and  moving  from  such  dangerous 
waters.  Our  talk  upon  the  quarter-deck  soon  brought  us 
to  the  first-named  course,  and  we  put  out  a  boat  with  ease 
upon  the  still  sea,  and  hailed  the  passenger  steamer  after 
twenty  minutes'  stout  rowing.  She  was  yet  a  Pitiful 
spectacle,  for  as  we  drew  near  to  her,  I  could  see  women 
weeping  hysterically  on  the  seats  aft,  and  men  alternately- 
helping  them  and  looking  over  in  the  direction  whence  the 
three  American  ironclads  steamed.  Indeed,  it  was  a  pic- 
ture of  great  confusion  and  distress,  and  we  hailed  those 
on  her  bridge  three  times  before  we  got  any  answer.  When 
we  did  get  up  on  her  main  deck,  Captain  Ross,  her  com- 
mander, greeted  us  with  great  thanks ;  but  he  was  a  sorry 
spectacle  of  a  man,  being  white  as  his  own  ensign  with 
anger,  and  his  voice  trembled  as  the  voice  of  a  man  suf- 
fering some  great  emotion.  He  took  us  to  his  chart-room, 
for  he  would  have  all  particulars  about  us,  both  our  names 
and  addresses,  with  those  of  our  officers,  for  a  witness  when 
he  should  call  the  British  Government  to  take  actifn. 

"•  Twenty  years,"  he  said,  with  tears  of  anger  in  his 
eyes,  "  twenty  years  I  have  crossed  the  Atlantic,  but  this  is 
the  first  time  that  I  ever  heard  the  like.  Good  God,  sirs; 
it's  nothing  less  than  piracy  on  the  high  seas;  and  they 


no          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

shall  suing,  every  man  Jack  of  them,  as  high  as  Haman! 
What  think  ye?  They  signal  me  to  lie  to — me  that  has 
the  mails  and  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  in  specie  aboard ; 
they  fire  a  shot  across  my  bows,  and  when  I  signal  that 
I'll  see  them  in  hell  before  I  bate  a  knot,  why — you 
watched  it  yourselves — they  struck  me  in  the  fo'castle,  and 
there's  two  of  my  dead  men  below  now;  but  they  shall 
swing" — and  he  brought  his  fist  upon  the  table  with  a 
mighty  thud — "they  shall  swing,  if  there's  only  one  rope 
in  Europe." 

I  had  sorrow  for  the  man  who  was  thus  moved — for  the 
most  part,  I  could  see,  at  the  loss  of  his  two  men.  Then  I 
went  forward  with  the  others  to  the  place  of  wreckage, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  observed  the  colossal 
havoc  \vhich  a  shell  may  leave  in  its  path.  The  single 
shot  which  had  struck  the  steamer  had  cut  her  two  skins 
of  steel  as  though  they  had  been  skins  of  cheese;  had 
splintered  the  wood  of  the  men's  bunks,  so  that  it  lay  in 
match-like  fragments  which  a  fine  knife  might  have 
hewed ;  had  passed  again  through  the  steel  on  the  star- 
board side,  and  so  burst,  leaving  the  fo'castle  one  tumbled 
mass  of  torn  blankets,  little  rags  of  linen,  fragments  of 
wood,  of  steel,  of  clothes  which  had  been  in  the  men's 
chests;  and  more  horrible  to  recount,  particles  of  human 
flesh.  Three  men  were  below  when  the  crash  came,  and 
two  of  them  had  their  limbs  torn  apart;  while,  by  one  of 
the  miracles  which  oft  attend  the  passage  of  a  shot,  the 
third, *being  in  a  low  bunk  when  the  shell  struck,  escaped 
almost  uninjured.  This  desolate  and  wrecked  cabin  was 
shown  to  us  by  Captain  Ross,  whose  anger  mounted  at 
every  step. 

"What  does  it  mean?''  he  kept  asking.  "Are  we  at  war? 
You  saw  the  Chilian  flag.  Is  there  no  Treaty  of  Paris, 


IN   THE   CHART  ROOM.  in 

then?  Does  he  go  out  to  filch  every  ship  he  meets?  Will 
he  do  this,  and  our  Government  take  no  steps?  Can't  you 
answer  me  that?"  But  he  poured  out  his  questions  with 
such  rapidity,  and  he  was  so  overcome,  that  we  followed 
him  in  silence  as  he  walked  beneath  the  awnings  of  the 
upper  decks,  and  showed  us  women  still  talking  hysteric- 
ally, men  unnerved  and  witless  as  children,  seamen  yet 
finding  curses  for  the  atrocity  that  had  been.  By  this  time, 
the  first  of  the  American  ships  had  come  up  with  us,  and 
the  commander  of  her  put  out  a  boat,  and  having  gone 
aboard  the  maimed  cruiser,  he  came  afterwards  to  the 
Black  Anchor  ship,  and  joined  us  in  the  chart-room.  I 
will  make  no  attempt  to  set  down  for  you  his  surprise  nor 
his  incredulity.  I  believe  that  the  scene  in  the  fo'castle 
alone  convinced  him  that  we  were  not  all  raving  madmen ; 
but,  when  once  he  grasped  our  story,  he  was  not  a  whit 
behind  us,  either  in  intensity  of  expression  or  of  sympathy. 

"It's  an  international  question,  I  guess,"  he  said;  "and 
if  he  doesn't  pay  with  his  neck  for  the  twenty  men  dead  on 
my  cruiser,  to  say  nothing  of  the  twenty  thousand  pounds 
or  more  of  damage  to  her,  I  will — why,  we'll  run  him 
down  in  four-and-twenty  hours.  You  took  his  course?" 

"West  by  south-west,  almost  dead,"  said  the  captain; 
and  I  heard  it  agreed  between  them  that  the  second  cruiser 
of  the  American  fleet  should  start  at  once  in  pursuit,  while 
the  ironclads  should  accompany  us  to  New  York,  so  mak- 
ing a  little  convoy  for  safety's  sake. 

With  this  arrangement  we  left  the  ship  and  regained  the 
Cehis.  Paolo  stood  at  the  top  of  the  ladder  as  I  came  on 
deck,  and  listened,  I  thought,  to  our  protestations  that 
the  danger  was  over  with  something  of  a  sneer  on  his 
face, 


H2          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

Indeed,  I  thought  that  I  heard  him  mutter,  as  he  went 
to  his  cabin,  "Vedremo — "  but  I  did  not  know  then  how 
much  the  laugh  was  to  be  against  us,  and  that  we  should 
leave  the  convoy  long  before  we  reached  New  York. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  TERROR. 

FOR  full  five  days  \ve  steamed  with  the  other  vessels,  under 
no  stress  to  keep  the  sea  with  them,  since  they  made  no 
mere  than  twelve  knots,  for  the  sake  of  the  cruiser  which 
had  been  so  fearfully  mained  in  the  short  action  with  the 
nameless  ship.  During  this  time,  there  was  little  power 
of  wind ;  and  the  breeze  continuing  soft  from  the  north- 
east, it  was  easy  business  to  hold  sight  of  the  convoy, 
which  we  did  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  man  aboard  us. 
But  I  could  not  put  away  from  myself  the  knowledge 
that  the  events  of  the  first  three  days  had  made  much 
talk  in  the  fo'castle  and  that  a  feeling  akin  to  terror 
prevailed  amongst  the  men. 

Thjs  came  home  to  me  with  some  force  on  the  early 
morning  of  the  fifth  day.  I  found  myself  unable  to  sleep 
restfully  in  my  bunk,  and  went  above  at  daybreak,  to  see 
the  white  hulls  of  the  American  war-vessels  a  mile  away 
on  the  port-quarter  and  the  long  line  of  the  Black  Anchor 
boat  a  few  cables'-lengths  ahead  of  them.  Paolo  was  on 
the  bridge,  but  I  did  not  hail  him,  thinking  it  better  to 
give  the  man  few  words  until  we  sighted  Sandy  Hook. 
He,  in  turn,  maintained  his  sullen  mood ;  but  he  did  not 
neglect  to  be  much  amongst  the  hands,  and  his  intimacy 
with  them  increased  from  day  to  day. 

Now,  when  I  came  on  deck  this  morning,  I  found  that 
the  breeze,  strong  and  fresh  though  it  was,  put  me  in  that 
soporific  state  I  had  sought  unavailingly  in  my  bunk. 
There  was  a  deck-chair  well  placed  behind  the  shelter  of 


H4  THE  SHADOW  OX  THE  SEA. 

the  saloon  skylight,  and  upon  this  I  made  myself  at  ease, 
drawing  my  peaked  hat  upon  my  eyes,  and  getting,  the 
sleep-music  from  the  swish  of  the  sea,  as  it  ran  upon  us,  and 
sprinted  from  the  tiller  right  away  to  the  bob-stay.  But  no 
sleep  could  I  get;  for  scarce  was  I  set  upon  the  chair  when 
I  heard  Dan  the  other  side  of  the  skylight,  and  he  was  hold- 
ing forth  with  much  fine  phra?e  to  Roderick's  dog,  Belle. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  apparently  treating  the  beast  as  though 
possessed  of  all  human  attributes.  "Yes,  you  don't  go  for 
to  say  nothing,  but  you're  a  Christian  dog,  I  don't  doubt ; 
and  yer  heart's  in  the  right  place ;  or  it's  not  me  as  would 
be  wasting  me  time  talking  to  yer.  Now,  what  I  says  is, 
j'ou're  comfortable  enough,  with  Missie  a-makin'  as  much 
of  yer  a.>  if  good  fresh  beef  weren't  tenpence  a  pound,  and 
yer  mouth  weren't  large  enough  to  take  in  a  hundred- 
weight; but  that  ain't  the  way  with  the  rest  of  us — no, 
my  old  woman,  not  by  a  cable's-length ;  we're  afloat  on  a 
rum  job,  old  lady;  and  some  of  us  won't  go  for  to  pipe 
when  it's  the  day  for  payin'  off — not  by  a  long  way.  So 
you  hear;  and  don't  get  answerin'  of  me,  for  what  I 
spoke's  logic,  and  there's  an  end  of  it." 

I  called  him  to  me,  and  had  it  out  with  him  there  and 
then. 

"What's  in  the  wind  now,  Dan,"  I  asked,  "that  you're 
preaching  to  the  dog?" 

"Ah,  that's  it,"  he  replied,  putting  his  hand  into  his 
pocket  for  his  tobacco-box.  "What's  in  the  wind? — why, 
you'd  have  to  be  askin'  of  it  to  learn,  I  fancy." 

"Is  there  any  more  nonsense  amongst  the  men  for- 
ward?" 

"There's  a  good  deal  of  talk — maybe  more  than  there 
should  be." 


A  DEAD  MAN'S  SHIP.  115 

"And  what  do  they  talk  about?  Tell  me  straight, 
Dan." 

"Well,  I've  got  nothing,  for  my  part,  to  hide  away, 
and  I  don't  know  as  they  should  have;  but  you  know  this 
ship  is  a  dead  man's!" 

"Who  told  you  that  stuff?" 

"No  other  than  our  second  mate,  sir,  as  sure  as  I  cut 
this  quid.  Not  as  yarns  like  that  affect  me ;  but,  you  see, 
some  sculls  is  thick  as  plate-armour,  and  some  is  thin  as 
egg-shells :  and  when  the  thin  'uns  gets  afloat  with  corpses, 
why,  it's  a  chest  of  shiners  to  a  handspike  as  they  cracks — 
now,  ain't  it?" 

"Dan,  this  is  the  most  astounding  story  that  I  have  yet 
heard.  Would  you  make  it  plainer?  for,  upon  my  life,  I 
can't  read  your  course!" 

He  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  the  skylight — long  service 
had  given  him  a  claim  to  familiarity — and  filled  his  pipe 
from  my  tobacco-pouch  before  he  answered  me,  and  then 
was  mighty  deliberate. 

"Plain  yarns,  Mister  Mark,  is  best  told  in  the  fo'castle, 
and  not  by  hands  upon  the  quarter-deck ;  but,  asking 
pardon  for  the  liberty,  I  feel  more  like  a  father  to  you 
gentleiren  than  if  I  was  nat'ral  born  to  it ;  and  this  I  do 
say — What's  this  trip  mean?  what's  in  yer  papers?  and 
why  ain't  it  the  pleasure  vige  we  struck  flag  for?  For 
it  ain't  a  pleasure  vige,  that  a  'shoreman  could  see ;  and  you 
ain't  come  across  the  Atlantic  for  the  seein'  of  it,  nor 
for  merchandise  nor  barter,  nor  because  you  wanted  to 
come.  That's  what  the  hands  say  at  night  when  the 
second's  a-talkin'  to  'em  over  the  grog  which  he  finds  'em. 
'Where's  it  going  to  end  ?'  says  he ;  'what  is  yer  wages  for 
takin'  yer  lives  where  they  shouldn't  be  took?  and,'  says 
he,  'in  a  ship  what  the  last  skipper  died  aboard  of  it/ 


u6  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

says  he,  'died  so  sudden,  and  was  so  fond  of  his  old  place 
as  who  knows  where  he  is  now,  afloat  or  ashore,  p'raps 
a-walking  this  very  cabin,  and  not  bringing  no  luck  for 
the  vige,  neither/  says  he.  And  what  follows? — why, 
white-livered  jawings,  and  this  man  afeard  to  go  here, 
and  that  man  afeard  to  go  there,  and  the  Old  One 
amongst  'em,  so  that  half  of  'em  says,  'We  was  took 
false,'  and  the  other  half,  'Why  not  'bout  ship  and  home 
again?'  No,  and  you  ain't  done  with  it,  not  by  a  long 
day,  and  you  won't  have  done  with  it  until  you  drop 
anchor  in  Yankee-land,  if  ever  you  do  drop  anchor  there, 
which  I  take  leave  to  give  no  word  upon." 

"It's  a  curious  state  of  things.  You  mean  to  say,  I 
suppose,  that  there's  terror  amongst  them — plain  terror, 
and  nothing  else?" 

"Ay,  sure!" 

"Then  it  remains  for  us  to  face  them.  What's  your 
opinion  on  that?" 

"My  opinion  is,  as  you  won't  go  for  to  do  it,  but  will 
take  your  victuals,  and  play  your  music  in  the  aft  parlour, 
and  skeer  away  the  Old  One  with  the  singing,  as  ye've 
skeered  him  already — that's  what  ye'll  do  afore  Missie 
and  the  skipper — but  by  yourself,  you  won't  have  two 
eyes  shut  when  you  sleep,  and  you  won't  have  two  eyes 
open  when  you're  above;  and  when  you're  wanted  you 
won't  be  an  hour  getting  yourself  nor  Mr.  Roderick  un- 
der weigh — and  that's  the  end  of  it,  for  there  goes  the 
bell." 

The  watch  changed  as  he  spoke,  and  I  went  below  to 
the  bathroom ;  thence,  not  thinking  much  of  Dan's  terror, 
nor  of  the  men's  petty  grumbling,  I  joined  the  others  at 
breakfast.  We  were  now  well  on  towards  the  end  of  the 
journey,  and  J  itched  to  set  foot  in  America.  The  new 


MISCHIEF  AFLOAT:  117 

safety  in  the  presence  of  the  war-ships  had  given  us  light 
hearts;  and  that  fifth  day  we  passed  in  great  games  of 
deck-quoits  and  cricket,  with  a  soft  ball  which  the  bo'sun 
made  for  us  of  tow  and  linen.  The  men  worked  cheer- 
fully enough,  giving  the  lie  direct  to  Dan;  and  when 
Mary  played  to  us  after  dinner  av  night  I  began  to  think 
that,  all  said  and  done,  we  should  touch  shore  with  no 
further  happening;  and  that  then  I  could  make  all  use  of 
the  man  Paolo  and  his  knavery.  So  I  went  to  bed  at  ten 
o'clock,  and  for  an  hour  or  two  I  slept  with  the  deep  for- 
getfulness  which  is  the  reward  of  a  weary  man. 

At  what  hour  Dan  awoke  me  I  cannot  tell  you.  He 
shook  me  twice  in  the  effort,  he  said,  and  when  I  would 
have  turned  up  the  electric  light,  he  seized  my  hand 
roughly,  muttering  in  a  great  whisper,  "Hold  steady." 
I  knew  then  that  mischief  was  afloat,  and  asked  him  what 
to  do. 

"Crawl  above,"  he  said,  "and  lie  low  a-deck;"  and  he 
went  up  the  companion  ladder  when  I  got  my  flannels  and 
rubber-shod  shoes  upon  me.  But  at  the  topmost  step  he 
stood  awhile,  and  then  he  fell  flat  on  his  hands,  and  backed 
again  down  the  stairway,  so  that  he  came  almost  on  top  of 
me;  but  I  saw  what  prompted  his  action,  for,  as  he 
moved,  there  was  a  shadow  thrown  from  the  deck  light 
down  to  where  we  lay ;  and  then  a  man  stepped  upon  the 
stair  and  descended  slowly,  his  feet  naked,  but  in  his  hand 
an  iron  bar;  for  he  had  no  other  weapon.  At  the  sight 
of  him,  we  had  backed  to  the  foot  of  the  stairway;  and, 
as  the  man  crept  down,  we  lay  still,  so  that  you  could  hear 
every  quiver  of  the  glass  upon  the  table  of  the  saloon ;  and 
we  watched  the  fellow  drop  step  by  step  until  he  was 
quite  close  to  us  in  the  dark,  and  his  breath  was  hot  upon 
us.  Swiftly  then  and  silently  he  entered  the  place;  and, 


ii8  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

going  to  my  cabin  door,  he  slipped  a  wedge  under  it,  serv- 
ing the  other  doors  around  the  big  cabin  in  the  same  way. 
The  success  seemed  to  please  him ;  he  chuckled  softly,  and 
came  again  to  the  ladder,  where  with  a  quick  motion,  Dan 
brought  his  pistol-butt  (for  I  had  armed  him)  full  upon 
1  the  fellow's  forehead,  and  he  went  down  like  a  dead  thing 
at  the  foot  of  the  swinging  table. 

There  we  left  him,  after  we  had  bound  his  hands  with 
my  scarf;  and  with  a  hurried  knock  got  Roderick  from  his 
berth.  He,  in  turn,  aroused  his  sister,  and  in  five  minutes 
we  all  stood  in  the  big  saloon  and  discussed  our  plan. 

Dan's  whispered  tale  was  this.  The  watch  was  Paolo's, 
who  had  persuaded  four  stokers  and  six  of  the  forward 
hands  to  his  opinion.  These  men,  the  dupes  of  the  second 
officer,  had  determined  on  this  much — that  the  voyage  to 
New  York  should  be  stopped  abruptly,  come  what  might, 
and  that  our  intent  should  go  for  nothing.  We,  being 
locked  in  our  cabins,  were  to  have  no  voice  in  the  affair; 
or,  if  waked,  then  we  should  be  knocked  on  the  head,  and 
so  quieted  to  reason. 

It  was  a  desperate  endeavour,  wrought  of  fear;  but  at 
that  moment  the  true  hands  of  the  fo'castle  were  battened 
down,  and  Dan,  who  had  seen  the  thing  coming,  escaped 
only  by  his  foresight.  That  night  he  had  felt  danger,  and 
had  wrapped  himself  up  in  a  tarpaulin,  and  lain  concealed 
on  deck. 

As  it  was,  Paolo  stood  at  the  door  of  the  skipper's  room ; 
there  were  three  men  guarding  the  fo'castle,  and  five  at 
the  foot  of  the  hurricane  deck.  One  man  we  had  settled 
with ;  but  we  were  three,  and  eight  men  stood  between  us 
and  the  true  hands. 

Roderick  was  the  first  to  get  his  wits,  and  plan  a  course. 


A  GREAT  HOWL  OF  TERROR.          ii$ 

"We  must  act  now,"  he  said,  "before  they  miss  their 
man.  They've  stopped  the  engines,  and  we  shall  drop 
behind  the  others.  There's  only  one  chance,  and  that  is  to 
surprise  them.  Let's  rush  it,  and  take  the  odds." 

"You  can't  rush  it,"  I  replied;  "they're  looking  for 
that ;  and  if  one  now  went  forward  they  would  shoot  him 
down  straight — and  what's  to  follow?  They  come  aft, 
and  how  can  we  hold  them  ?  But  we  must  get  the  skipper 
awake,  or  they'll  knock  him  on  the  head  while  he  sleeps." 

Mary  had  listened,  shivering  with  the  night  cold ;  but 
she  had  a  word  to  add,  and  its  wisdom  was  no  matter  for 
dispute. 

"If  I  went,"  she  said,  "what  could  they  do  to  me?" 

We  were  all  silent. 

"I'm  going  now,"  she  said;  "while  I'm  talking  to  them 
they  won't  be  looking  for  you." 

"Certainly,  we  could  follow  up,"  I  added,  "and  might 
get  them  down  if  you  held  them  in  talk;  but  don't  you 
fear?" 

She  laughed,  and  gave  answer  by  running  up  the  com- 
panion-way, and  standing  at  the  top;  while  we  cocked 
our  pistols,  and  crept  after  her.  Then  we  lay  flat  to  the 
deck,  as  she  ran  noiselessly  amidships,  and  into  the  very 
centre  of  the  five  men.  To  our  astonishment,  they  gave  a 
great  howl  of  terror  at  the  sight  of  her — for  it  lay  so  dark 
that  she  seemed  but  a  thing  of  shadow  hovering  upon  the 
ship — and  bolted  headlong  forward ;  while  we  rushed  in  a 
body  to  the  hurricane  deck,  and  faced  Paolo.  He  turned 
very  white,  and  would  have  opened  his  lips;  but  Dan 
served  him  as  the  other;  and  hit  him  with  his  pistol,  so 
that  he  rolled  senseless  off  the  narrow  bridge,  and  we 
heard  the  thud  of  his  head  against  the  iron  of  the  engine- 


120  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

roem  hatch.  He  had  scarce  fallen  when  Mary,  with  the 
laugh  still  upon  her  lips,  reeled  at  the  sight  of  him,  and 
fell  fainting  in  my  arms.  I  knocked  at  the  skipper's  door, 
but  he  was  already  on  his  feet,  and  passed  me  to  the  bridge 
while  I  laid  the  swooning  girl  on  the  sofa  in  the  chart- 
room. 

The  skipper  got  the  whole  situation  at  the  first  look, 
and  acted  in  his  usual  silence.  He  re-entered  his  own 
cabin,  and  came  to  us  again  with  a  couple  of  rifles,  which 
he  loaded.  We  were  now  all  crouching  together  by  the 
wheel  amidships,  for  Mary  had  recovered,  and  insisted 
that  I  should  leave  her,  and  we  waited  for  the  heavy  black 
clouds  tq  lift  off  the  moon;  but  the  fore-deck  lay  dark 
ahead  of  us ;  and  we  could  not  tell  whether  the  men  who 
had  fled  had  gone  below,  or  were  crouching  behind  the 
galley  and  the  skylights  of  the  fore-cabins.  Nor  could  we 
hear  any  sound  of  them,  although  the  skipper  hailed  them 
twice.  He  was  for  going  forward  at  once;  but  we  held 
back  until  the  light  came,  and  then  by  the  full  moon  we 
saw  dark  shadows  across  the  hatch.  The  men  were  behind 
the  galley,  as  we  thought — the  eight  of  them. 

The  skipper  hailed  them  again. 

"You,  Karl,  Williams — are  you  eoming  out  now,  for 
rne  te  flog  you;  or  will  you  swing  at  New  York?" 

I  could  see  their  whole  performance  in  shadow,  as  they 
heard  the  hail.  One  of  them  cocked  a  pistol,  and  the  rest 
huddled  more  closely  together. 

''Very  well,''  continued  the  skipper,  ironically  deliber- 
ate. "You've  got  a  couple  of  planks  between  you  and 
eternity.  I'm  going  to  fire  through  that  galley." 

He  raised  his  rifle  at  the  word,  and  let  go  straight  at  the 
corner  of  the  light  wood  erection.  A  dull  groan  followed, 
and  by  the  shadow  on  the  deck  I  saw  one  man  fall  forward 


ON  THEIR  KNEES/  121 

amongst  the  others,  who  held  him  up  with  their  shoulders ; 
but  his  blood  ran  in  a  thick  stream  out  to  the  top  of  the 
hatchway,  and  then  ran  back  as  the  ship  heaved  to  the  seas. 

For  the  fifth  time  the  skipper  hailed  them. 

"There's  one  down  amongst  you,"  he  said;  "but  that's 
the  beginning  of  it;  I'm  going  to  blow  that  shanty  to  hell, 
and  you  with  it." 

He  raised  his  rifle,  but  as  he  did  so  one  of  them  an- 
swered for  the  first  time  with  his  revolver,  and  the  bullet 
sang  above  our  heads.  The  skipper's  shot  was  quick  in 
reply ;  and  the  wood  of  the  shanty  flew  in  splinters  as  the 
bullet  shivered  it.  A  second  man  sprang  to  his  feet  with  a 
shout,  and  then  fell  across  the  deck,  lying  full  to  be  seen 
in  the  moonlight. 

"That's  two  of  you,"  continued  the  skipper,  as  calm  as 
ever  he  was  in  Portsmouth  harbour;  "we'll  make  it  three 
for  luck."  But  at  the  suggestion  they  all  made  a  run 
forward,  and  lay  flat  right  out  by  the  cable.  There  we 
could  hear  them  blubbering  like  children. 

The  skipper  was  of  a  mind  to  end  the  thing  there  and 
then.  He  sprang  down  the  ladder  to  the  deck,  and  we 
followed  him.  They  fired  three  shots  as  we  rushed  on 
them ;  but  the  butt  ends  of  the  two  muskets  did  the  rest. 
Three  of  them  went  down  straight  as  felled  poplars.  The 
others  fell  upon  their  knees  and  implored  mercy ;  and  they 
got  it,  but  not  until  the  skipper,  who  now  seemed  roused 
to  all  the  fury  of  great  anger,  set  to  kicking  them  lustily, 
and  with  no  discrimination — for  they  all  had  their  full 
share  of  it. 

We  had  the  other  hands  up  by  this,  and,  despite  the 
tragedy  and  horror  of  the  thing,  a  smile  came  to  me  as  the 
true  men  set  to  binding  the  others  at  the  skipper's  order; 
for  Pif  ins  Jack  and  Planks,  and  the  whole  ten  of  them, 


122  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

fell  into  such  a  train  of  swearing  as  would  have  done  your 
heart  good  to  hear.  They  got  them  below  at  the  first 
break  of  dawn,  and  the  dead  they  covered;  while  Paolo, 
who  lay  groaning,  we  carried  to  a  cabin  in  the  saloon,  and 
did  for  his  broken  head  that  which  our  elementary  knowl- 
edge of  surgery  permitted  us. 

As  the  day  brought  light  upon  the  rising  sea  I  looked 
to  the  far  horizon,  but  the  rolling  crests  of  an  empty  waste 
met  my  gaze.  Again  we  were  alone.  The  night's  work 
had  lost  us  the  welcome  company. 


123 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  SHIP  IN  THE  BLACK  CLOAK. 

THE  day  that  broke  was  glorious  enough  for  Nature's 
making,  but  sad  upon  our  ship,  in  that  the  folly  of  eight 
poor  fellows  should  have  cost  the  lives  of  two,  with  three 
more  lying  near  to  death  in  the  fo'castle.  The  sea  had 
risen  a  good  deal  when  we  got  under  steam  again,  and 
clouds  scudded  over  the  sun;  but  we  set  stay-sails  and 
jibs,  and  made  a  fine  pace  towards  the  shores  of  America. 
It  was  near  noon  when  we  had  buried  the  two  stokers  shot 
by  the  skipper,  and  more  on  in  the  afternoon  before  the 
decks  were  made  straight,  and  the  traces  of  the  scuffle 
quite  obliterated.  But  Paolo  lay  all  day  in  a  delirium, 
and  Mary  went  in  and  out.  bearing  a  gentle  hand  to  the 
wounded,  who  alternately  cried  with  the  pain  of  it,  and 
begged  grace  for  their  insanity.  The  second  officer's  case 
was  worse  than  theirs,  and  I  thought  at  noon  that  the 
total  of  the  dead  would  have  been  three ;  for  he  raved  in- 
cessantly, crying  "Ice,  Ice!"  almost  with  every  breath, 
while  we  had  all  difficulty  possible  to  hold  him  in  his  bunk. 
His  words  I  could  not  get  the  meaning  of;  but  I  had 
them  later,  and  in  circumstances  I  had  never  looked  for. 

After  the  hour  of  lunch  the  skipper  called  Roderick  and 
me  into  his  cabin,  and  there  he  discussed  the  position 
with  us. 

"One  thing  is  clear,''  he  said;  "you've  brought  me  on 
more  than  a  pleasure  trip,  and,  while  I  don't  complain,  it 
will  be  necessary  at  New  York  for  me  to  know  something 


124  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

more — or,  maybe  to  leave  this  ship.  Last  night's  work 
must  be  made  plain,  of  course;  and  this  second  officer  of 
yours  must  stand  to  his  trial.  The  men  I  would  willingly 
let  go,  for  they're  no  more  than  lubberly  fools  whose  heads 
have  been  turned.  But  one  thing  I  now  make  bold  to 
claim — I  take  this  yacht  straight  from  here  to  Sandy 
Hook;  and  we  poke  our  noses  into  no  business  on  the  way." 

"Of  course,"  said  Roderick  somewhat  sarcastically, 
"you've  every  right  to  do  what  you  like  with  my  ship ;  but 
I  seem  to  remember  having  engaged  you  to  obey  my 
orders." 

"Fair  orders  and  plain  sailing,"  replied  Captain  York, 
bringing  his  fist  down  on  the  table  with  emphasis;  "not 
running  after  war-ships  that  could  blow  us  out  of  the 
water  without  thinking  of  it.  Fair  orders  I  took,  and 
fair  orders  I'll  obey." 

"That's  quite  right,  Roderick,"  I  said;  "there's  no 
reason  now  why  we  shouldn't  go  straight  on — if  we  don't 
meet  with  anyone  to  ask  questions  on  the  way ;  of  that  I'm 
not  so  sure,  though." 

"Nor  I,"  said  the  skipper  meaningly,  and  waiting  for 
me  to  add  more;  but  I  did  not  mean  to  gratify  him,  and 
we  all  went  out  on  deck  again  after  we  had  agreed  to  let 
him  have  his  will.  We  found  the  first  officer  on  the 
bridge,  looking  away  to  the  south-east,  where  the  black 
hull  of  a  steamer  was  now  showing  full.  I  do  not  know 
that  the  distant  sight  of  a  ship  was  anything  to  cause  re- 
mark, but  as  I  looked  at  her,  I  noticed  that  she  steamed  at 
a  fearful  speed  and  she  showed  no  smoke  from  her  funnels. 

"Skipper,"  I  said,  "will  you  look  at  that  hull?  Isn't 
the  boat  making  uncommon  headway?" 

He  took  a  very  long  gaze,  and  then  he  spoke — 


"STAND  BY!"  125 

"You're  right.     She's  going  more  than  twenty  knots." 

"And  straight  towards  us!" 

"As  you  say." 

"Is  there  anything  remarkable  about  that?" 

He  took  another  sight  of  her,  and  when  he  turned  to 
me  again  he  had  no  colour  in  his  face. 

"I've  seen  that  ship  before,"  he  said. 

"Where?"  asked  Roderick  laconically. 

"Five  days  ago,  when  she  fired  a  shell  into  the  Ocean 
King." 

"In  that  case,"  said  I,  "there  isn't  much  doubt  about 
her  intentions:  she's  chasing  us!" 

"That  may  or  may  not  be,"  he  replied,  as  he  raised 
his  glass  again,  "but  she's  the  same  ship,  I'll  wager  my 
life.  Look  at  the  rake  of  her — and  the  lubbers,  they've 
left  some  of  their  bright  metal  showing  amidships!" 

He  indicated  the  deck-house  by  the  bridge,  where  rny 
glass  showed  me  a  shining  spot  in  the  cloak  of  black,  for 
the  sun  fell  upon  the  place,  and  reflected  from  it  as  from 
a  mirror  of  gold.  There  was  no  longer  any  doubt:  we 
were  pursued  by  the  nameless  ship,  and,  if  no  help  fell  to 
us,  I  shuddered  to  think  what  the  end  might  be. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do,  skipper?"  asked  Roderick, 
as  gloom  fell  upon  the  three  of  us ;  and  we  stood  together, 
each  man  afraid  to  tell  the  others  all  he  thought. 

"What  am  I  going  to  do?"  said  he.  "I'm  going  to 
see  the  boats  cleared,  and  all  hands  in  the  stoke-hole  that 
have  the  right  there;"  and  then  he  sang  out,  "Stand  by!" 
and  the  men  swarmed  up  from  below,  and  heard  the  order 
to  clear  the  boats.  They  obeyed  unquestioningly ;  but  I 
doubt  not  that  they  were  no  less  uneasy  than  we  were ; 
and,  as  these  things  cannot  be  concealed,  the  whisper  was 


126  THE  SHJDOir  OX  THE  SEA. 

soon  amongst  them  that  the  danger  lay  in  the  black 
steamer,  which  had  been  five  days  ago  the  ship  of  gold. 
Yet  they  went  to  the  work  with  a  right  good  will;  and 
presently,  when  a  canopy  of  our  own  smoke  lay  over  us, 
and  the  yacht  bounded  forward  under  the  generosity  of 
the  stoking,  they  set  up  a  great  cheer  spontaneously,  and 
were  ready  for  anything.  Vet  I,  myself,  could  not  share 
their  honest  bravado.  The  black  ship  whicli  had  been  but 
a  mark  on  the  horizon  now  showed  her  lines  fully;  there 
could  be  no  two  opinions  of  her  speed,  or  of  the  way  in 
which  she  gained  upon  us.  Indeed,  one  could  not  look 
upon  her  advance  without  envy  of  her  form,  or  of  the 
terrifying  manner  in  which  she  cut  the  seas.  Churning 
the  foam  until  it  mounted  its  banks  on  each  side  of  her 
great  ram,  she  rode  the  Atlantic  like  a  beautiful  yacht, 
with  no  vapour  of  smoke  to  float  above  her;  and  not  so 
much  as  a  sign  that  any  engines  forced  her  onward  with 
a  velocity  unknown,  I  believe,  in  the  whole  history  of 
navigation.  And  so  she  came  straight  in  our  wake,  and  I 
knew  that  we  should  have  little  breathing  time  before  we 
should  hear  the  barking  of  her  guns. 

The  skipper  did  not  like  to  see  my  idleness  or  this  dis- 
play of  inactive  indifference. 

"Don't  you  think  you  might  help?"  he  masked. 

"Help — what  help  can  I  give? — you  don't  suppose  we 
can  outsteam  them,  do  you?" 

"That's  a  child's  question;  they'll  run  us  to  a  stand  in 
four  hours — any  man  with  one  eye  should  see  that;  but 
are  you  going  down  like  a  sheep,  or  will  you  give  them 
a  touch  of  your  claws?  I  will,  so  help  me  Heaven,  if 
there's  not  another  hand  breathing!" 

"The  skipper's  right,  by  Jove!"  said  Roderick;  "if  it's 
coming  to  close  quarters,  I'll  mark  one  man  anyway,"  and 


GRIT  OF  THE  SEA-DOGS.  127 

with  that  he  tumbled  down  the  ladder,  and  into  his  cabin. 
I  followed  him,  and  got  all  the  arms  I  could  lay  hands  on, 
a  couple  of  revolvers  and  a  long  duck-gun  amongst  the 
number.  There  were  two  rifles — the  two  we  had  used  in 
the  trouble  with  the  men — in  the  chart-room,  and  these 
we  brought  on  deck,  with  all  the  other  pistols  we  had 
amongst  us.  We  made  a  distribution  of  them  amongst  the 
old  hands,  giving  Dan  the  duck-gun,  which  pleased  him 
mightily. 

"I  generally  shoots  'em  sittin',"  he  said,  "but  I'll  go  for 
to  make  a  bag,  and  willin'.  You're  keepin'  the  Missie 
out  of  it,  sir?" 

"Of  course;  she's  looking  after  the  sick  hands  down- 
stairs. You  go  forward,  Dan,  and  wait  for  the  word,  then 
blaze  away  your  hardest." 

"Ay,  ay,"  replied  he;  and  I  took  myself  off  to  see  after 
the  others,  whom  we  posted  in  the  stern  to  keep  a  closer 
look-out;  while  Roderick,  the  first  officer,  and  myself 
went  above  to  the  bridge. 

The  men  now  fell  to  the  work  in  right  good  earnest. 
They  had  all  the  grit  of  the  old  sea-dogs  in  them — how, 
I  know  not,  except  in  this,  that  their  lives  had  been  given 
to  the  one  mistress.  The  thought  of  a  brush-up  put  dash 
and  daring  into  them;  they  had  the  boats  cleared,  the 
water-barrels  filled,  and  the  life-belts  free,  with  an  activity 
that  was  remarkable.  Then  they  stood  to  watch  the  on- 
coming of  the  nameless  ship;  and  when  we  hoisted  our  en- 
sign they  burst  again  into  that  hoarse  roar  of  applause 
which  rolled  across  the  water  waste,  and  must  have 
sounded  as  a  vaunting  mockery  to  the  men  behind  the 
walls  of  metal.  But  they  answered  us  in  turn,  running 
up  an  ensign,  and  a  cry  came  from  all  of  us  as  we  saw 
its  colour,  for  it  was  the  blu.e  saltire  on  a  white  ground, 


128  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Russian,  or  I'm  blind,"  said  the  skipper,  and  I  looked 
twice  and  knew  that  his  sight  was  safe  to  him ;  for  the 
nameless  ship,  which  five  days  ago  showed  her  heels  under 
the  Chilian  mask,  now  made  straight  towards  us  in  Rus- 
sian guise. 

"Are  you  sure  she's  the  same  ship?1"  asked  Roderick, 
when  his  amazement  let  him  speak. 

"Am  I  sure  that  my  voice  comes  out  of  my  throat?" 
said  the  old  fellow  testily.  "Did  you  ever  see  but  one 
hull  shaped  like  that?  And  now  she  signals." 

So  rapidly  had  she  drawn  towards  us  that  she  was,  in- 
deed, then  within  gun-shot  of  us.  After  the  first  enthu- 
siasm the  men  had  stood,  held  under  the  spell  of  her  amaz- 
ing approach,  and  no  soul  had  spoken.  Even  with  their 
plain  reckoning  and  hazy  notion  of  it  all,  they  seemed 
conscious  of  the  peril ;  but  not  as  I  was  conscious  of  it, 
for  in  my  own  heart  I  believed  that  no  man  amongst  us 
would  see  to-morrow.  There  we  stood  alone,  with  no 
prospect  but  to  face  the  men  who  openly  declared  war 
against  us.  I  turned  my  eyes  away  to  the  crimson  arch 
which  marked  the  sun's  decline;  I  looked  again  to  the  east, 
whence  black  harbingers  of  night  hung  low  upon  the  dark- 
ened sea;  I  searched  the  horizon  in  every  quarter,  but  it 
lay  barren  of  ships,  and  soon  the  last  light  would  leave 
us,  and  with  the  ebb  of  day  there  was  no  security  against 
an  enemy  whose  attentions  were  no  longer  disguised — but 
of  this  the  skipper  made  me  cognisant.  He  pointed  to  the 
mast  on  the  nameless  ship,  where  the  Russian  ensign  had 
hung  ten  minutes  before.  It  was  there  no  longer;  the 
black  flag  took  its  place. 

"Pirates,  by  the  very  devil!"  said  the  skipper;  and  then 
he  whistled  long  and  loud  and  shrilly  as  a  man  who  has 
solved  a  sum. 


A  MESSAGE  BOAT,  129 

"Gentlemen,"  he  added  very  slowly,  "I  said  I  would 
resign  this  ship  at  New  York:  with  your  permission  I 
will  withdraw  that.  1  will  sail  with  you  wherever  you 
go." 

He  shook  our  hands  heartily,  as  though  the  discovery  of 
our  purpose  had  unclouded  his  mind.  But  we  had  no  time 
for  fuller  understanding,  for  at  that  moment  the  air 
itself  seemed  torn  apart  by  a  great  concussion,  and  a  shell 
burst  in  the  water  no  more  than  fifty  yards  ahead  of  us. 
When  the  knowledge  that  we  were  not  hit  was  sure  on  the 
men's  part,  they  bellowed  lustily,  and  oli  Dan  fired  his 
gun  into  the  air  with  a  great  shout.  Yet  we  knew  that  all 
this  was  the  cheapest  bravado;  and  when  the  skipper 
touched  the  bell  to  stop  our  engines,  I  was  sure  that  he 
was  wise. 

" That's  the  end  of  it  then,"  I  said.  "Well,  it's  pretty 
ignominious,  isn't  it,  to  be  shot  down  like  fools  on  our 
own  quarter-deck!" 

"Wait  awhile,"  he  answered,  looking  anxiously  behind 
him,  where  a  mist  gathered  on  the  sea;  "let  'em  lower  a 
boat,  the  lubbers!" 

By  this  time  the  great  vessel  rode  still  some  quarter  of 
a  mile  away  from  us;  but  the  glass  showed  me  the  men 
upon  her  decks,  and  conspicuous  amongst  them  I  saw  the 
form  of  Captain  Black  standing  by  the  steam  steering 
gear.  Others  below  were  moving  at  the  davits,  so. that 
in  a  small  space  a  launch  was  riding  in  the  still  sea,  and 
was  making  for  us.  I  watched  her  with  nerves  strained 
and  lips  dry;  she  seemed  to  me  the  message  boat  from 
Death  itself. 

"Stand  steady  and  wait  for  me!"  suddenly  yelled  the 
skipper,  his  fingers  moving  nervously,  and  his  look  con- 


130  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

tinually  turning  to  the  banks  of  mist  behind  us.     "When 
I  sing  'Fire!'  pick  your  men!" 

The  boat  was  so  near  that  you  could  see  the  faces  in  it; 
and  three  of  the  five  I  recognized,  for  I  had  seen  them  in 
the  room  of  the  Rue  Joubert.  The  others  were  not  known 
to  me.  but  had  rascally  countenances;  and  one  of  them 
was  a  Chinaman's.  The  man  who  was  in  command  was 
the  fellow  "Roaring  John";  and  when  he  was  within 
hail  he  stood  and  bawled — 

"What  ship?" 

"My  ship!"  roared  back  the  skipper,  again  looking  at 
the  mist-clouds,  and  my  heart  gave  a  bound  when  I  read 
his  purpose:  we  were  drifting  into  them. 

"And  who  may  you  be?"  bawled  the  fellow  again, 
growing  more  insolent  with  every  advance. 

"I'm  one  that'll  give  you  the  best  hiding  you  ever  had, 
if  you'll  step  up  here  a  minute!"  yelled  the  skipper,  as 
cool  as  a  man  in  Hyde  Park. 

"Oh,  I  guess,"  said  the  man;  "you're  a  tarnation  fine 
talker,  ain't  you?  But  you'll  talk  less  when  I  come  aboard 
you,  oh,  I  reckon!" 

They  came  a  couple  of  oars'  lengths  nearer,  when  Cap- 
tain York  made  his  reply.  There  was  a  fine  roll  of  con- 
fidence in  his  voice;  and  he  almost  laughed  when  he 
cried — 

"You're  coining  aboard,  are  you?  And  which  of  you 
shall  I  have  the  pleasure  of  kicking  first?" 

The  hulking  ruffian  roared  with  pleasant  laughter  at 
the  sally. 

"Oh,  you're  a  funny  cuss,  ain't  you,  and  pretty  with 
your  jaw,  by  thunder!  but  it's  me  that  you'll  have  the 
pleasure  of  speaking  to,  and  right  quick,  my  mate,  oh,  you 
bet!" 


INTO  THE  MIST.  131 

"In  that  case,"  said  the  skipper,  with  his  calmness  well 
at  zero ;  "  in  that  case — you,  Dan !  introduce  yourself  to 
the  gentleman." 

Dan's  reply  was  instantaneous.  He  leant  well  over  the 
bulwark,  and  his  cheery  old  face  beamed  as  he  bellowed — 

"Ahoy,  you  there  that  it's  me  pleasure  to  be  runnin' 
against  so  far  from  me  old  country.  Will  you  have  it  hot, 
or  will  you  have  it  the  other  way  for  a  parcel  of  cold- 
livered  lubbers?  By  the  Old  'Un,  how's  that  for  salt 
'oss!" 

He  had  up  with  his  shot  gun,  and  the  long  ruffian,  who 
had  reached  forward  with  his  boat-hook,  got  the  dose  full 
in  his  face,  as  it  seemed  to  me.  At  the  same  moment  the 
skipper  called  "Fire!"  and  the  heavy  crack  of  the  rifles 
and  the  sharp  report  of  the  pistols  rang  out  together.  The 
very  launch  itself  seemed  to  reel  under  the  volley ;  but  the 
Chinaman  gave  a  great  shout,  and  jumped  into  the  sea 
with  the  agony  of  his  wound ;  while  two  of  the  others 
were  stretched  out  in  death  as  they  sat. 

"Full  steam  ahead!"  roared  Captain  York,  as  the 
nameless  ship  replied  with  a  shell  that  grazed  our  chart- 
room.  "Full  speed  ahead!"  Then,  shaking  his  fist  to 
the  war-ship,  he  almost  screamed — "Bested  for  a  parcel 
of  cut-throats,  by  the  Powers!" 

There  was  no  doubt  about  it  at  all.  The  moment  the 
yacht  answered  to  the  screw  the  fog  rolled  round  us  like 
a  sheet,  in  thick  wet  clouds,  steaming  damp  on  the  decks; 
and  twenty  yards  ahead  or  astern  of  us  you  could  not  see 
the  long  waves  themselves.  But  the  sensations  of  that  five 
minutes  I  shall  never  forget.  Shot  after  shot  hissed  and 
splashed  ahead  of  us,  behind  us;  now  dull,  heavy,  yet 
penetrating,  and  we  knew  that  the  ship  lay  close  on  pur 


132  THE  SHADOfr  ON  THE  SEA. 

track;  then  farther  off  and  deadened,  and  we  hoped  that 
she  had  Idst  us.  Again  dreadfully  close^  so  that  a  shell 
struck  the  chart-room  full,  and  crushed  it  into  splinters 
hot  bigger  than  your  finger,  then  dying  away  to  leave  the 
stillness  of  the  mist  behind  it.  An  awful  chase,  enduring 
mahy  minutes;  a  chase  when  I  went  hot  and  cold*  now 
filled  with  hope,  then  seeming  to  stand  on  the  very  brink 
of  death.  But  at  last  the  firing  ceased.  We  left  our 
course,  steaming  for  some  hours  due  south  across  the  very 
track  of  the  nameless  ship;  and  we  went  headlong  into 
the  fog,  the  men  standing  yet  at  their  posts,  no  soul  giving 
a  thought  to  the  lesser  danger  that  was  begotten  of  eur 
speed ;  every  one  of  us  held  in  that  strartge  after-tension 
which  follows  upon  calamity. 

When  I  left  the  bridge  it  was  midnight.  I  was  soaked 
to  the  skin  and  nigh  frozen,  and  the  water  ran  even  from 
my  hair;  but  a  hot  hand  was  put  into  mine  as  I  entered 
the  cabin,  and  then  a  thousand  questions  rained  Upon  me. 

"I'll  tell  you  by-and-by,  Mary.  Were  you  very  much 
afraid?" 

She  tossed  her  head  and  seemed  to  think. 

"I  was  a  bit  afraid,  Mark — a — a — little  bit!" 

"And  what  did  you  do  all  the  time?" 

"I — oh,  I  nursed  Paolo — he's  dying." 

The  man  truly  lay  almost  at  death's  door;  but  his  de- 
lirium had  passed ;  and  he  slept,  muttering  in  his  dream, 
"I  can't  go  to  the  City — Black;  you  know  it — let  me 
get  aboard.  Hands  off!  I  told  you  the  job  was  risky;" 
and  he  tossed  and  turned  and  fell  into  troubled  slumber. 
And  1  could  not  help  a  thought  of  sorrow,  for  I  feared 
that  he  would  hang  if  ever  we  set  foot  ashore. 

I  returned  to  the  saloon  sadly,  though  all  was  now 


THE  SKIPPER  CITES  A  TOAST.          133 

brightness  there.  We  served  out  grog  liberally  for  the 
forward  hands,  and  broke  champagne  amongst  us. 

'"Gentlemen,"  said  the  skipper,  giving  us  the  toast,  "you 
owe  your  lives  to  the  Banks;  and,  please  God,  I'll  see  you 
all  in  New  York  before  three  days." 

And  he  kept  his  word  ;  for  we  sighted  Sandy  Hook, 
and  harrri  had  come  to  no  man  that  fought  the  urtequal 
fight. 


134 
CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  DRINKING  HOLE  IN  THE   BOWERY. 

THE  beauty  of  the  entrance  to  the  Bay  of  New  York,  the 
amazing  medley  of  shipping  activity  and  glorious  scenery, 
have  often  been  described.  Even  to  one  who  comes  upon 
the  capital  of  the  New  World,  having  seen  many  cities 
and  many  men,  there  is  a  charm  in  the  sweeping  woods 
and  the  distant  heights,  in  the  group  of  islets,  and  the 
massive  buildings,  that  is  hardly  rivalled  by  the  fascina- 
tions of  any  other  harbour,  that  of  San  Francisco  and  the 
Golden  Gates  alone  excepted.  If  you  grant  that  the  mere 
material  of  man's  making  is  all  very  new,  its  power  and 
dignity  is  no  less  impressive.  Nor  in  any  other  city  of 
the  world  that  I  know  does  the  grandeur  of  the  natural 
environment  force  itself  so  close  to  the  very  gates,  as  in 
this  bay  which  Hudson  claimed,  and  a  Dutch  colony  took 
possession  of  so  long  ago  as  1614. 

It  was  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  we  brought 
the  Cehis  through  the  Narrows  between  Staten  and  Long 
Islands,  and  passed  Forts  Wandsworth  and  Hamilton. 
Then  the  greater  harbour  before  the  city  itself  rolled  out 
upon  our  view;  and  as  we  steamed  slowly  into  it  the  Cus- 
toms took  possession  of  us,  and  made  their  search.  It  was 
a  short  business,  for  we  satisfied  them  that  Paolo  suffered 
from  no  malignant  disease,  although  one  small  and  sin- 
gularly objectionable  fellow  seemed  suspicious  of  every- 
thing aboard  us.  I  do  not  wonder  that  he  made  the  men 
angry,  or  that  Dan  had  a  word  with  him. 

"Look  here,   sir,"  he  whispered,  making  pretence  to 


A  DOG  STUFFED  WITH  DIAMONDS.'    135 

great  honesty;  "I  won't  go  for  to  deceive  you — p'r'aps 
that  dog's  stuffed  wi'  di'monds." 

"Do  you  reckon  I'm  a  fool?''  asked  the  man. 

"Well,"'  said  old  Dan,  "I  never  was  good  at  calcerla- 
tions;  but  you  search  that  dog,  and  p'r'aps  you'll  find 
somethin'." 

The  man  seemed  to  think  a  moment;  but  Dan  looked 
so  very  solemn,  and  Belle  came  sniffing  up  at  the  officer's 
legs;  so  he  passed  his  hand  over  her  back,  and  lost  some 
of  his  leg  in  return. 

"Didn't  I  tell  you/'  said  Dan,  "as  you'd  get  something 
if  you  searched  that  dog? — well,  don't  you  go  for  to  doubt 
me  word  next  time  we're  meetin'.  Good-day  to  yer 
honour.  Is  there  any  other  animal  as  I  could  oblige  you 
with?" 

The  officer  went  off,  the  men  howling  with  laughter; 
and  a  short  while  after  we  had  made  fast  at  the  landing- 
stage,  and  were  ready  to  go  ashore. 

Paolo  still  lay  very  sick  in  his  cabin,  and  we  deter- 
mined in  common  charity  to  take  no  action  until  he  had 
his  health  again ;  but  we  set  the  men  to  keep  a  watch 
about  the  place,  and  for  ourselves  went  off  to  dine  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel.  There,  before  a  sumptuous  dinner, 
and  with  all  the  novelty  of  the  new  scene,  we  nigh  forgot 
all  that  happened  since  the  previous  month;  when,  with- 
out thought  of  adventure  or  of  future,  we  had  gone  to 
Paris  with  the  aimless  purpose  of  the  idle  traveller.  And, 
indeed,  I  did  my  best  to  encourage  this  spirit  of  forgetful- 
ness,  since  through  all  the  new  enjoyment  I  could  not  but 
feel  that  danger  surrounded  us  on  every  hand,  and  that  I 
was  but  just  embarked  on  that  great  mission  I  had  under- 
taken. 

In  this  mood,  when  dinner  was  done,  I  suggested  that 


136  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

Roderick  should  take  Alary  through  the  city  awhile,  and 
that  I  should  get  back  to  the  Celsis,  there  to  secure  what 
papers  were  left  for  me,  and  to  arrange,  after  thought, 
what  my  next  step  in  the  following  of  Captain  Black 
should  be.  The  skipper  had  friends  to  see  in  New  York, 
and  agreed  that  he  would  follow  me  to  the  yacht  in  a 
couple  of  hours,  and  that  he  would  meet  the  others  in 
the  hotel  after  they  had  come  from  their  excursion.  This 
plan  fell  in  with  my  own,  and  I  said  "Good-bye"  cheer- 
fully enough  to  the  three  men  as  I  buttoned  up  my  coat, 
and  sent  for  a  coach.  If  I  had  known  then  that  the  next 
time  I  should  meet  them  would  be  after  weeks  of  danger 
and  of  peril,  of  sojourn  in  strange  places,  and  of  life 
amongst  terrible  men ! 

I  was  driven  to  the  wharf  very  quickly,  and  get  aboard 
the  yacht  with  no  trouble.  There  was  a  man  keeping 
watch  upon  her  decks ;  and  Dan  had  been  in  the  sick  man's 
cabin  taking  drink  to  him.  He  told  me  that  he  was  more 
easy,  and  spoke  with  the  full  use  of  his  senses;  and  that  he 
had  fallen  off  into  a  comfortable  sleep  "since  an  hour."  I 
was  glad  at  the  news,  and  went  to  my  own  cabin,  getting 
my  papers,  my  revolver,  and  other  things  that  1  might  have 
need  of  ashore. 

This  work  occupied  me  forty  minutes  or  more ;  but  as  I 
was  ready  to  go  back  to  the  others  I  looked  into  Paolo's 
cabin,  and,  somewhat  to  my  surprise,  I  saw  that  he  was 
dressed,  and  seemingly  about  to  quit  the  yacht.  This 
discovery  set  me  aglow  with  expectation.  If  the  man  were 
going  ashore,  whither  could  he  go  except  to  his  associates, 
to  those  who  were  connected  with  Black  and  his  crew? 
Was  not  that  the  very  clue  I  had  been  hoping  to  get  since 
I  knew  that  we  had  a  spy  aboard  us?  Otherwise,  I  might 
wait  a  year  and  hear  no  more  of  the  man  or  of  his  work 


THE  ITALIAN  GOES  ASHORE.          137 

except  such  tidings  as  should  come  from  the  sea.  Indeed, 
my  mind  was  made  up  in  a  moment;  I  would  follow 
Paolo,  at  any  risk,  even  of  my  life. 

This  thought  sent  me  forward  again  into  the  fo'castle, 
where  Dan  was. 

"Hist,  Dan!"  said  I,  "give  me  a  man's  rig-out — a  jer- 
sey and  some  breeches  and  a  cap — quick,  and,  while  the  old 
fellow  stared  and  whistled  softly,  I  helped  to  ransack  his 
box ;  and  in  a  trice  I  had  dressed  myself,  putting  my  pis- 
tols, my  papers,  and  my  money  in  my  new  clothes;  but 
leaving  everything  else  in  a  heap  on  the  floor. 

"Dan,"  I  said,  "that  Italian  is  going  ashore,  and  I'm 
going  to  follow  him.  No,  you  mustn't  come,  or  the  thing 
will  be  spoilt.  Tell  the  forward  look-out  to  see  nothing  if 
the  fellow  passes,  and  get  my  rubber  shoes  from  my 
trunk." 

Dan  scratched  his  head  again,  and  must  have  thought 
that  I  was  qualifying  in  lunacy;  but  he  got  the  shoes,  and 
not  a  momeVit  too  soon,  for,  as  I  came  on  deck,  I  saw  a 
shadow  on  the  gangway.  The  man  was  leaving  the  yacht 
at  that  moment,  and  I  followed  him,  drawing  my  cap  right 
over  my  eyes,  and  lurking  behind  every  inch  of  cover. 

Once  out  into  the  city,  and  having  turned  two  or  three 
times  to  satisfy  himself  that  he  had  no  one  after  him, 
Paolo  struck  for  Broadway;  thence  with  staggering  gait, 
the  result  of  his  weakness,  he  made  straight  for  the  City 
Hall,  at  which  point  he  turned  and  so  got  into  Chatham 
Street  and  the  Bowery.  At  last,  after  a  long  walk,  and 
when  the  man  himself  was  almost  falling  from  the  erer- 
tion  of  it,  he  stopped  before  an  open  door  in  the  dirtiest  of 
the  streets  through  which  we  had  come,  and  disappeared 
instantly.  I  came  up  to  the  door  almost  as  soon  as  he  had 
passed  through;  and  found  myself  before  a  steep  flight  of 


138  THE  SHADOW  OX  THE  SEA. 

steps,  at  the  bottom  of  which  through  a  glass  partition  I 
could  see  men  smoking  and  drinking,  and  hear  them  bawl- 
ing uncouth  songs. 

It  was  a  fearful  hole,  peopled  by  fearful  men;  all 
nations  and  all  sorts  of  villains  were  represented  there; 
low  Englishmen,  Frenchmen,  Russians,  even  niggers  and 
Chinamen ;  yet  into  that  hole  must  I  go  if  I  would  follow 
Paolo  to  the  end. 

You  may  forgive  me  if  I  hesitated  a  moment ;  waited 
to  balance  up  the  odds  upon  my  recognition.  I  might  have 
decided  even  then  that  the  risk  was  too  great,  the  certainty 
of  discovery  too  palpable;  but  at  that  moment  a  party  of 
six  hulking  seamen  descended  the  steps  before  me,  and, 
taking  advantage  of  the  cover  of  their  shoulders,  I  pulled 
my  cap  right  over  my  face  and  passed  through  the  swing- 
ing door  with  them  into  the  most  dangerous-looking  place 
I  have  ever  set  foot  in. 

The  room  was  long  and  narrow;  banked  its  whole 
length  by  benches  that  had  once  been  covered  with  red  vel- 
vet, but  now  showed  torn  patches  and  the  protruding  wool 
of  the  stuffing.  Mirrors  were  raised  from  the  dado  of  the 
seats  to  the  frieze  of  the  smoke-blackened  ceiling;  but  they 
were  for  the  most  part  cracked,  and  some  had  lost  much  of 
their  glass.  The  accommodation  for  drinkers  consisted  of 
marble-topped  tables,  old  and  worn  and  stained  with  the 
dirt  which  was  characteristic  everywhere  of  the  foul  den; 
but  there  was  nothing  but  boards  beneath  one's  feet;  and 
the  wretched  bar  at  the  uppermost  end  of  the  chamber  was 
no  more  than  a  plain  deal  bin  with  a  high  stool  behind  it 
for  the  serving  man ;  he  being  a  great  negro  grotesquely 
attired  as  a  man  of  fashion.  Indeed,  had  not  the  whole 
promise  of  the  place  been  so  threatening,  I  should  have 
paused  to  laugh  a,t  this  dusky  scoundrel,  whose  while  ha,t 


MOTHER  CATCH.  139 

sat  jauntily  on  the  side  of  his  woolly  head,  and  whose  well- 
cut  black  coat  was  ornamented  with  a  great  bunch  of  white 
flowers.  But  there  was  evil  in  this  man's  face,  and  in  the 
faces  of  the  others  who  sat  close  packed  upon  the  faded 
couches;  and  when  I  had  paused  for  a  moment  to  take 
reckoning  of  the  room,  I  passed  quickly  to  a  bench  near  the 
door,  and  there  sat  wedged  against  a  fair-haired  seaman, 
whose  look  stamped  him  to  be  a  Russian. 

The  scene  was  very  new  to  me.  I  had  heard  of  these 
drinking  dens  in  that  low  quarter  of  New  York  called  the 
Bowery ;  but  my  American  friends  had  cautioned  me  often 
to  have  no  truck  with  them  should  I  visit  their  city.  They 
spoke  of  the  poor  regard  for  life  which  prevailed  there ;  of 
murders  committed  with  an  impunity  which  was  as  as- 
tounding as  it  was  impossible  for  the  police  to  suppress ;  of 
mysterious  disappearances,  mysterious  alone  in  the  lack  of 
knowledge  as  to  the  victim's  end;  and  they  conjured  me,  it 
I  would  see  such  things,  at  least  to  go  under  the  escort  of 
the  police.  All  this  I  had  paid  scant  attention  to  at  the 
time;  but  the  reality  was  before  me  with  its  grim  terror. 
The  room  was  filled  with  the  scum  of  sea-going  humanity; 
foul  smoke  from  foul  pipes  floated  in  choking  clouds  to  the 
dirt-begrimed  ceiling;  great  bnnvn  pots  of  strong  drink 
were  emptied  as  though  their  contents  had  been  milk;  hor- 
rid blasphemies  were  uttered  as  choice  dishes  of  speech; 
ribald  songs  rose  in  giant  discord  as  the  spirit  moved  the 
singers.  Now  and  again,  betwixt  the  shouting  and  the 
singing,  a  young  girl,  whose  presence  in  such  a  company 
turned  my  heart  sick,  played  upon  a  harp,  while  to  serve 
the  crew  with  liquor  there  was  a  mahogany-faced  hag 
whom  the  men  addressed  as  "Mother  Catch."  An  old 
crone,  bent  and  doubled  like  a  bow,  yet  vigorous  in  her 
work,  and  shuffling  with  quick  steps  as  she  laid  down  the 


i4o          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

jugs,  or  took  the  uncouth  orders  so  freely  given  to  her,  she 
seemed  to  have  the  eye  of  an  hawk ;  nor  did  I  escape  her 
glance,  for  I  had  not  been  seated  before  the  marble  table  a 
moment  when  she  shuffled  up  to  me  and  stood  glaring  with 
her  shining  eyes,  the  very  presentment  of  an  old-time  witch. 

"Ha!"  sht  said  sharply,  "ha!  a  sailor  boy  in  proper 
sajlor  clothes;  ho,  little  man,  will  ye  wet  yer  throat  for  a 
pretty  gentleman?" 

I  did  not  like  her  mock  courtesy,  or  'the  way  in  which 
she  pronounced  the  word  "gentleman;"  but  I  called  for 
some  beer  to  get  her  away,  and  when  she  brought  it  I 
remembered  that  I  had  no  American  money;  but  I  put  an 
English  florin  before  her  and  waited  for  the  change.  She 
hissed  at  the  sight  of  it  like  a  serpent  about  to  strike. 

"  Ha !  Englishman !  and  no  money ;  ho !  ho !  ye've  got 
to  find  it,  little  man.  Mother  Catch  likes  you ;  but  she 
spits  on  it!" 

She  spoke  the  last  \vords  jn  such  a  loud  voice  that 
several  men  near  me  turned  to  look,  and  I  feared  to  be- 
come the  centre  qf  a  brawl.  This  would  have  defeated 
everything,  so  I  threw  her  a  half-sovereign,  and,  feigning 
her  own  savage  merriment,  I  said — 

"Gold,  little  woman,  English  gold;  spit  on  it  for  luck, 
little  woman ;"  and  I  am  hound  to  say  that  she  did  so, 
hobbling  out  of  the  room  with  the  gold  piece  clenched  in 
her  nut-cracker  jaws.  Then  I  began  to  search  with  my 
eyes  for  Paolo ;  and,  although  the  smoke  was  very  thick,  I 
saw  him  seated  near  the  drinking-bar,  a  tumbler  of  brandy 
before  him,  his  arms  resting  on  the  edge  of  the  counter 
where  the  liquor  was  sold.  I  judged  then  that  he  had 
made  no  idle  visit  to  this  place;  and  in  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  or  so  my  surmise  was  proved.  The  glass  door  again 


THE  HAG  RAISES  HER  VOICE.          141 

swung  open ;  three  men  entered  through  it,  and  I  recog- 
nised the  three  of  them  in  a  moment.  The  first  was  the 
Irishman,  "  Four-Eyes ;"  the  second  was  the  lantern-jawed 
Scotsman,  who  had  been  addressed  in  Paris  as  "Dick  the 
Ranter;"  the  third  was  "Roaring  John,"  into  whose  face 
Dan  had  emptied  the  contents  of  his  duck-gun  three  days 
before.  The  ruffian  had  his  mouth  all  bound  in  a  bloody 
rag,  so  I  hugged  myself  at  the  knowledge  that  he  had  been 
well  hit;  but  he  was  in  nowise  depressed;  and,  although 
the  gun  had  stopped  his  speech,  he  smacked  Paolo  on  the 
back  when  he  greeted  him,  and  the  others  soon  had  their 
faces  in  the  great  brown  jugs. 

The  sight  of  this  company  warmed  me  to  the  work.  I 
seemed  to  stand  on  the  threshold  of  discovery.  If  only  I 
could  follow  them  hence  to  Black's  house  the  whole  aim  of 
my  journey  would  be  fulfilled.  And  why  not?  I  said; 
they  will  leave  this  place  and  go  to  their  leader  some  time 
— if  not  now,  at  least  to-morrow;  and  why  should  I  lose 
touch  with  them?  So  far  it  was  certain  that  my  presence 
was  undiscovered.  The  hag  had  suspicion  of  me,  but  not 
in  their  way;  the  men  were  too  busy,  I  thought,  talking  of 
their  own  affairs  to  meddle  even  with  their  neighbours. 
Dan  knew  on  what  business  I  had  left  the  ship,  and  would 
quieten  Roderick's  alarm  for  me.  It  was  plain  that  for- 
tune had  turned  kindly  eyes  on  me. 

I  sat  sipping  the  beer  and  smoking  an  old  clay  pipe, 
which  I  had  found  in  the  breast-pocket  of  Dan's  garment, 
doing  these  things  to  escape  the  remarks  which  the  neglect 
of  them  would  have  occasioned,  when  there  was  some 
change  in  the  bibulous  entertainment  as  yet  provided  for 
us  in  the  drink-hole.  The  hag  raised  her  voice,  worn  to  a 
croak  with  long  scolding,  and  shrieked — 


14^          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Jack's  a-going  to  dance  for  ye!  Silence,  pretty  boys. 
Ho!  ho!  Jack  the  Fire-Devil,  will  ye  listen  then?  And  it's 
help  me  move  the  tables  ye  will,  Master  Dick,  or  ye're  no 
minister  that  I  took  ye  for.  Back,  my  pretty  gentleman, 
lest  I  throw  me  vitriol  on  ye.  Ha!  but  they  love  me  like 
their  own  mother!" 

She  poked  round  with  her  stick  at  the  seamen's  feet, 
compelling  them  to  fall  back,  and  to  make  a  ring  for  the 
dancer  in  the  centre;  and  I  saw  with  no  satisfaction  that 
the  foul-mouthed  villain  who  was  called  the  "Ranter" 
came  to  give  her  his  help  to  the  work. 

"Hoots,  mither,"  he  cried  in  his  broadest  Scots,  "did 
ye  mistake  that  I  was  a  gentleman  frae  the  Hielands  o' 
bonnie  Scotland?  And  I'll  be  verra  glad  to  throttle  some 
for  a  wee  cup  o'  yer  pretty  poison.  So  ho!  ye  lubbers,  it's 
an  ower-fine  discoors  for  a  summer  Sawbath  that  my  boot 
will  teach  you.  Mak'  way,  mak'  way!" 

Thus,  with  unctuous  mockery  and  rough  menace,  the 
fellow  followed  the  fury  round  the  room,  and  forced  the 
drunken  crew  to  the  wall.  He  came  to  my  seat;  but 
I  buried  my  head  in  my  hands  lest  he  should  have  carried 
the  memory  of  my  face  from  Paris;  and  he  passed,  having 
taken  no  notice  of  me,  as  I  hoped.  Soon  he  had  made  a 
great  ring  for  the  dancing;  and  one  of  the  long  mirrors 
opened,  showing  a  door,  whose  existence  I  had  not  sus- 
pected ;  and  a  great  negro  with  a  flaming  fire-pot  entered 
the  room.  His  entry  brought  applause;  but  he  was  a  com- 
mon quack  of  a  performer  at  the  beginning,  for  he  made 
pretence  to  eat  the  fire,  and  to  bring  it  up  again  from  his 
vitals.  Then,  to  some  wild  music  from  a  fiddler,  he  bound 
coils  of  the  flaming  stuff  about  his  head ;  and,  the  lamps 
being  lowered,  he  gave  us  a  weird  picture  of  a  man  danc- 
ing, all  circled  with  flame ;  working  himself  up  until  I  re- 


THE  IRON  CURT A  IN.  143 

called  pictures  of  the  dervishes  I  had  seen  in  the  old  quar- 
ter of  Cairo.  It  was  an  extraordinary  exhibition,  and  it 
pleased  the  men  about  so  that  they  roared  with  delight. 
I  was  watching  it  at  last  as  intent  as  they  were;  but  my 
attention  was  suddenly  diverted  by  the  sense  that  some- 
thing under  the  marble  table  at  which  I  was  sitting  was 
pulling  at  my  leg.  I  looked  down  quickly,  and  saw  a 
strange  sight:  it  was  the  black  face  of  the  lad  Splinters, 
who  had  been  treated  so  brutally  in  Paris.  He,  crouching 
under  the  table,  was  making  signs  to  me,  earnest,  meaning 
signs,  so  that  without  any  betrayal  I  leant  my  head  down 
as  though  upon  my  hands,  and  spoke  to  him — 

"What  is  it,  lad?"  I  asked  in  a  whisper.  "What  do 
you  want  to  say?" 

"Don't  stop  here,  sir!"  he  answered  in  a  state  of  great 
agitation.  "They  know  you,  and  are  going  to  kill  you!" 

He  said  no  more,  crawling  away  at  once;  but  he  left  me 
hot  with  fear.  The  mad  dance  was  still  going  on,  and  the 
room  was  quite  dark  save  for  the  glow  cast  by  the  spirit 
flames  about  the  huge  negro.  It  occurred  to  me  at  once 
that  the  darkness  might  save  me  if  only  I  could  reach  the 
door  unobserved ;  and  I  left  my  seat,  and  pushed  amongst 
the  men,  passing  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  street,  until  at 
last  I  was  at  the  very  portal  itself.  Then  I  saw  that  a 
change  had  been  made  while  I  had  been  sitting.  The 
doors  of  glass  were  wide  open,  but  the  way  to  the  street 
without  was  no  longer  clear — an  iron  curtain  had  been 
drawn  across  the  entrance,  and  a  hundred  men  could  not 
have  forced  it. 

This  was  a  terrible  discovery.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the 
iron  door  had  been  closed  for  an  especial  purpose.  I  knew, 
however,  that  when  the  dance  was  over  some  of  the  au- 
dience would  wish  to  go  out,  and  so  I  waited  by  the  cur- 


144  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

tain  until  the  lamps  were  turned  up,  and  the  negro  had 
disappeared.  The  men  were  then  about  to  push  their  tables 
to  the  centre  again,  but  the  hag  raised  her  voice  and 
cried — 

"As  you  are,  my  pretty  gentlemen;  it's  only  the  first 
part  ye've  been  treated  to.  No,  no ;  ye  don't  have  the  door 
drawn  till  ye've  seen  yer  mother  dance  awhile.  Good 
boys,  all  of  ye,  there's  work  to  do;  ho!  ho!  work  to  do,  and 
Mother  Catch  will  do  it!" 

At  the  words  "work  to  do"  a  strange  silence,  which  I 
did  not  then  understand,  fell  on  the  company.  Somehow,  all 
the  men  immediately  around  me  slunk  away,  and  I  found 
myself  standing  quite  alone,  with  many  staring  at  me.  The 
four  men  whom  I  most  feared  had  turned  their  backs,  and 
were  busy  with  their  mugs;  but  the  rest  of  the  assembly 
had  eyes  only  for  the  terrible  woman  and  for  myself. 
Presently  the  discordant  music  began  again.  The  hag,  who 
had  been  bent  double,  reared  herself  up  with  a  "Ho!" 
after  the  fashion  of  a  Scottish  sword-dancer,  and  began  to 
make  a  wretched  shuffle  with  her  feet.  Then  she  moved 
with  a  hobble  and  a  jig  to  the  far  end  of  the  room ;  and  she 
called  out,  beginning  to  come  straight  down  to  the  door 
whereby  I  stcod.  I  know  not  what  presentiment  fore- 
warned me  to  beware  as  the  creature  drew  near;  but  yet 
I  felt  the  danger,  and  the  throbbing  of  my  heart.  That  I 
could  hope  for  help  amongst  such  a  crew  was  out  of  the 
question.  I  had  my  revolver  in  my  pocket,  but  had  I 
shown  it  twenty  barrels  would  have  answered  the  folly. 
There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  face  the  screeching 
woman ;  and  this  I  did  as  the  unearthly  music  became 
louder,  and  the  stillness  of  the  men  was  speaking  in  its 
depth. 

At  the  last,  the  old  witch,  who  had  danced  for  some 


A  CRASHING  BLOW.  145 

moments  at  a  distance  of  ten  paces  from  the  spot  where  I 
stood,  became  as  one  possessed.  She  made  a  few  dreadful 
antics,  uttered  a  piercing  shriek,  and  hurled  herself  almost 
on  me.  In  that  instant  I  remember  seeing  the  three  men 
with  Paolo  suddenly  rise  to  their  feet,  while  the  others  in 
the  room  called  out  in  their  excitement.  But  the  hag  her- 
self drew  from  her  breast  something  that  she  had  con- 
cealed there;  and,  as  she  stood  within  a  yard  of  me,  she 
brought  it  crash  upon  my  head,  and  all  my  senses  left  me. 


I46 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ASTERN   OF   THE    "LABRADOR." 

COMPLETE  unconsciousness  is  a  blessing,  I  think,  which 
comes  rarely  to  us.  Sleep,  they  say,  is  akin  to  death;  yet 
I  have  often  questioned  if  there  be  an  absolute  void  of 
existence  in  sleep;  and  I  am  sure  that  in  few  cases  where 
a  blow  robs  us  of  sense  does  the  brain  cease  to  be  active 
or  to  bring  dreams  in  its  working.  I  have  been  struck  down 
unconscious  twice  in  my  life ;  but  in  each  instance  I  have 
suffered  much  during  the  after-days  from  that  trouble  of 
mind  which  is  akin  to  the  feverish  dream  of  an  exhausted 
system.  Horrid  sights  does  the  brain  then  bear  to  us; 
terrible  situations;  weird  phantoms  known  to  the  opium- 
eater;  wild  struggles  with  unnatural  enemies;  wrestlings 
even  for  existence  itself.  All  these  I  knew  during  the  days 
that  followed  my  rash  visit  to  the  drinking  den.  How 
long  I  lay,  or  where,  I  know  not  to  this  hour;  but  my 
dreams  were  very  terrible,  and  there  was  a  fever  at  my 
head  which  the  ice  of  a  great  lake  scarce  could  have  cooled. 
Often  I  would  know  that  I  had  consciousness,  and  yet  I 
could  not  move  hand  or  foot,  so  that  the  terror  moved  me 
to  frenzies  of  agony,  though  my  lips  were  sealed,  and  I 
felt  myself  passing  to  death.  Or  I  would  live  again 
through  the  night  when  Martin  Hall  died,  and  from  the 
boat  where  I  watched  the  holocaust,  I  climbed  to  the 
shrouds  of  the  cutter,  and  stood  with  my  poor  friend  in  the 
very  shelter  of  the  spreading  flames.  Or  I  struggled  with 
Black,  having  hunted  him  to  his  own  quarter-deck,  and 


IN  AN  OPEN  BOAT.  147 

there  with  great  force  of  men  I  sought  to  lay  hands  on 
him ;  but  he  escaped  me  with  a  mocking  laugh,  and  when 
I  looked  again  the  deck  was  empty. 

For  short  moments  the  delirium  must  have  left  me. 
Once  I  opened  my  eyes,  and  knew  that  the  sun  shone  upon 
me,  and  that  the  breeze  which  cooled  my  forehead  blew 
from  the  sea ;  but  my  fatigue  was  so  great  that  I  fell  asleep 
in  the  next  instant,  and  enjoyed  pure  rest  during  many 
hours.  When  I  regained  consciousness  for  the  second 
time,  it  was  because  rain  beat  upon  my  face,  a  drizzling 
warm  rain  of  late  summer,  and  there  was  spray  from  a 
fresh  sea.  For  some  minutes  I  set  myself  to  ask  where  I 
was ;  but  I  knew  that  I  was  bound  at  the  left  hand  and  at 
my  feet,  and,  to  my  unutterable  astonishment,  when  I 
raised  my  head,  I  saw  that  I  lay  in  an  open  boat  which 
was  moving  very  slowly,  but  my  feet  were  towards  the 
stern  of  it,  and,  as  my  head  lay  below  the  level  of  the  gun- 
wale, I  could  see  nothing  of  the  power  which  moved  the 
boat  or  of  the  scene  about  us. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  my  throbbing  head  let  me  put 
together  a  chain  of  thought  to  account  for  my  position. 
The  scene  at  the  drinking  den  would  not  at  first  come  back 
to  me,  think  as  I  would ;  but  when  it  did,  the  clue  which 
was  lacking  came  with  it.  There  could  be  no  doubt  that 
I  had  walked  into  a  trap,  and  that  the  hag  who  had  struck 
me  had  been  in  the  pay  of  Paolo  and  his  crew.  These  men 
must  have  taken  me  as  I  lay,  and  so  brought  me  to  this 
boat ;  but  what  time  had  intervened,  or  where  I  was,  I 
knew  no  better  than  the  dead.  Only  this  was  sure,  that  I 
was  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  greatest  scoundrels  living, 
and  that,  if  his  past  were  any  precedent,  my  hours  of  life 
would  be  few. 


I48          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

I  cannot  tell  you  why  it  was,  but  strange  to  say,  this 
reflection  did  not  give  me  very  great  alarm  at  the  moment. 
Perhaps  I  suffered  too  much  from  bodily  weakness,  and 
would  have  welcomed  any  release,  even  death;  perhaps  I 
was  buoyed  up  with  that  eternal  hope  which  bears  its 
most  generous  blossom  in  the  springtime  of  life.  In  either 
case,  I  put  away  the  thought  of  danger,  and  set  to  the  task 
of  conning  my  position  a  little  more  closely.  The  boat  in 
which  I  lay  was  painted  white,  and  was  of  elegant  build. 
She  had  all  the  fine  lines  of  a  yacht's  jolly-boat;  and  when 
I  raised  my  head  I  could  see  that  her  fittings  had  been  put 
in  only  at  great  expense.  She  was  not  a  large  boat,  but 
the  centre  seat  had  been  removed  from  her  to  let  me  lie  on 
a  tarpaulin  which  covered  her  keel,  and  the  stern  seat  had 
been  used  to  bind  my  feet.  A  second  tarpaulin,  folded 
twice,  had  been  propped  under  my  head,  but  my  left  hand 
was  bound  close  to  the  bow  thwart,  and  there  was  a  rope 
doubled  round  my  right  forearm  so  that  I  could  not  raise 
myself  an  inch,  though  my  right  hand  was  free.  The 
meaning  of  this  apparent  neglect  I  soon  learnt.  There  was 
a  flask  on  the  edge  of  the  tarpaulin  which  supported  my 
head,  and  by  it  half  a  dozen  rather  fine  captain's  biscuits. 
I  had  a  prodigious  thirst  on  me,  and  I  drank  from  the 
flask ;  but  found  it  to  contain  weak  brandy,  and  would 
willingly  have  exchanged  thrice  its  contents  for  a  long 
draught  of  pure  water.  But  the  bjscuits  I  could  not 
touch ;  and  I  began  to  be  chilled  with  the  rain  which  fell 
copiously,  and  with  the  sea  which  sent  spray  in  fountains 
upon  my  body. 

Up  to  this  time,  I  had  heard  no  sound  of  human  voices, 
but  the  silence  was  broken  at  last  by  a  shout,  and  the  boat 
ceased  to  move. 

"All  hands,  make  sail !"  cried  someone,  apparently  above 


THE  VOICE  OF  ^FOUR-EYES."          149 

me;  and  aftef  that  I  heard  the  "yo-heave"  of  the  men  haul- 
ing, as  I  judged,  at  a  main-sail.  The  second  order, 
"Sheets  home!"  proved  to  me  that  I  was  behind  a  sailing 
ship,  perhaps  a  yacht  which  these  men  had  secured,  as  they 
got  La  France — and  burnt  her.  I  shuddered  at  the  second 
thought,  and  my  head  began  to  burn  again  despite  the  wet. 
Did  they  mean  to  leave  me  there  until  the  end  of  it, 
when  the  cold  and  my  wound  should  do  their  work?  Had 
they  forgotten  me  ?  Had  they  any  reason  for  keeping  me 
alive?  My  questions  were  in  part  answered  by  a  sudden 
shout  from  the  deck  of  the  ship. 

"Ho,  Bill,  is  the  young  'un  gone?" 

"No,  my  hearty,  he's  gone  about!" 

"Getting  his  spirits  damped,  I  reckon." 

"Some,  you  bet." 

And  then  I  heard  a  voice  I  knew,  the  voice  of  the 
Irishman,  "Four-Eyes." 

"Is  it  the  boi  ye're  mindin',  bedad?" 

"Ay,  sir,  he's  moved  a  point." 

"The  poor  divil.  Throw  him  a  sheet  one  av  yer;  it's 
meself  that's  not  bringing  the  guvner  a  dead  body  when  he 
wants  a  live  one,  be  Saint  Pathrick!" 

They  tried  to  throw  me  a  sheet  as  the  man  had  ordered, 
but  we  had  begun  to  move  rapidly  again,  and  I  heard  it 
fall  in  the  water  by  my  head.  Though  there  was  more 
hailing,  the  thud  of  the  choppy  sea  against  the  boat  for- 
bade any  more  hearing,  and  the  sheet  never  reached  me. 
Yet  the  men  had  told  me  something  with  their  words,  and 
I  pondered  long  on  the  remark  of  the  Irishman,  that  the 
"guvner"  wanted  me  alive.  It  explained  much;  and  it 
put  beyond  doubt  the  reason  why  I  had  not  been  killed  in 
the  drinking  den.  It  was  quite  clear  that  my  life  was  safe 


i5o          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

from  these  men  until  they  reached  their  chief;  but  where 
he  was  I  had  no  notion,  except  he  were  on  the  nameless 
ship ;  and,  if  that  were  so,  to  the  nameless  ship  I  was  going 
— that  ship  of  horror  and  of  mystery.  Nor  could  I  remem- 
ber anything  in  what  I  knew  of  Captain  Black  to  lead  me 
to  the  hope  that  such  a  voyage  was  other  than  one  to 
death,  and  perhaps  to  that  which  might  be  worse  than 
death  itself. 

When  this  strange  progression  had  lasted  about  an  hour, 
the  rain  ceased  and  the  sun  shone  again  with  renewed 
power,  drying  my  clothes  upon  me,  and  giving  me  pro- 
digious thirst.  I  struggled  to  reach  the  flask,  and  in  doing 
so  I  found  that  the  ropes  binding  my  right  arm  were  tied 
with  common  hitches,  such  as  any  sailor  could  force;  and 
my  experience  as  a  yachtsman  let  me  get  free  of  them  with 
very  little  trouble.  I  did  not  sit  up  at  once,  for  I  feared  to 
be  seen  from  the  decks;  but  I  turned  my  head  to  look  at 
the  boat  which  towed  me,  and  saw  that  she  was  a  barque- 
rigged  yacht  after  the  American  fashion ;  her  name  Labra- 
dor being  conspicuous  across  her  stern.  My  boat,  which 
was  no  larger  than  I  had  thought,  was  towed  by  a  double 
hawser ;  but  no  man  watched  me  from  the  poop,  and  I  lay 
down  again  reassured.  The  hope  of  escape  was  already  in 
my  head,  for  I  judged  that  we  could  not  be  far  from  New 
York,  although  no  land  was  visible  on  the  horizon.  It 
occurred  to  me  that  if  they  would  only  let  me  be  until 
night  I  could  get  my  left  hand  and  my  feet  free;  and,  as 
the  hawser  was  passed  through  a  ring  at  the  bow,  I  needed 
but  a  knife  to  complete  the  business.  But  I  had  no  knife, 
for  a  search  in  my  pockets  proved  that  I  had  been  relieved 
of  all  my  valuables  and  trifles;  and  I  knew  that  another 
way  must  be  found,  and  that  ingenuity  alone  would  help 


A  CAN  OF  HOT  STUFF.  151 

me.  So  I  sat  thinking;  and  all  the  long  afternoon — I 
knew  it  was  afternoon,  as  I  saw  the  sun  sinking  in  the 
horizon  and  heard  the  bells,  moreover — I  examined  such 
devices  as  came  to  me,  only  to  reject  them  and  to  seek  for 
others. 

Towards  the  second  bell  in  the  second  "dog"  there  was 
a  change  in  the  monotony  of  the  scene.  I  heard  an  order  to 
heave  the  barque  to,  and  presently  I  made  haste  to  put  the 
ropes  back  in  their  places  and  to  await  the  happening.  I 
felt  all  motion  cease,  and  then  someone  hawling  at  the 
hawser,  so  that  the  jolly-boat  was  pulled  against  the  side  of 
the  bigger  ship;  and,  looking  up,  I  saw  half-a-dozen  of 
Black's  gang  watching  me  from  the  quarter-deck.  Then  a 
ladder  was  put  over  the  bulwark,  and  Four-Eyes  himself 
cried  out  not  in  an  unkindly  tone — 

"Gi-me  the  soop,  bhoys,  and  let's  get  it  in  him;  begorra, 
the  divil'll  have  him  afore  the  skipper  if  it's  no  mate  you're 
givin'  him!" 

He  came  down  the  ladder  with  a  great  can  of  steaming 
stuff;  and  the  sea  having  fallen  away  with  the  sun  to  a 
dead  calm,  he  stepped  off  the  ladder  to  the  stern  seat,  and 
then  bent  over  me.  But  I  saw  this  only,  that  he  had  a 
knife  in  his  belt;  and  I  made  up  my  mind  in  a  moment  to 
get  it  from  him. 

"The  young  'un  from  Paris,"  he  cried,  as  he  took  a  long 
look  at  me,  "and  near  to  axin'  for  a  priest,  by  the  houly 
saints;  but  I  was  tellin'  ye  to  stop  where  ye  was,  and  it's 
no  thanks  ye  were  giving  me.  Bedad,  and  a  pretty  place 
ye're  going  to,  sorr,  at  your  own  wish — the  divil  knows 
what's  the  end  av  it — but  sup  a  bit,  for  it's  fastin'  ye  are 
by  the  luk  av  ye,  and  long  gone  at  that!" 

Kindly  words  he  gave  me ;  and  he  held  to  the  rope 
with  one  hand  while  he  put  the  can  of  hot  stuff  to  my  lips 


i52          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

with  the  other.  I  drank  half  of  it  with  great  glilps,  feel- 
ing the  warmth  spread  through  my  body  to  my  very  toes  as 
the  broth  went  down ;  and  a  great  hope  consoled  me,  for  I 
had  his  knife,  having  snatched  it  from  him  when  first  he 
stooped,  and  it  lay  in  the  tarpaulin  beneath  me.  The  good 
luck  of  the  theft  made  me  quick  to  empty  the  pot  of  gravy ; 
and  when  I  had  returned  the  can,  Four-Eyes  went  over  the 
side  again,  and  the  yacht  moved  onward  lazily  in  the  softest 
of  breezes  from  the  west.  But  my  boat  lay  behind  her 
again ;  and  I  did  not  stir  from  my  restful  position  Until  it 
\vas  full  dark;  though  the  going  down  of  the  sun  had  left 
a  clear  night  and  a  zenith  richly  set  with  a  shimmer  of 
stars,  which  did  not  give  any  great  promise  to  my  thoughts 
of  coming  freedom. 

When  I  deemed  that  I  had  waited  long  enough,  and  had 
assured  myself  that  the  later  night  would  not  be  more 
auspicious  for  the  attempt,  I  cut  away  the  remaining  ropes 
at  my  feet,  and  crouched  unbound  in  the  boat.  There  Was 
good  watch  upon  the  ship,  I  knew,  for  I  could  hear  the 
"All's  well!"  as  the  bells  were  struck,  and  the  passing  of 
the  orders  from  the  poop  to  the  fo'castle.  This  did  not 
deter  me ;  and,  being  determined  to  stake  all  rather  than 
face  the  terrors  of  the  nameless  ship,  I  crawled  to  the  bow, 
and  began  to  cut  the  strands  of  the  hawser  one  by  one. 
The  rope  was  very  thick  and  hard,  and  the  knife  which  I 
had  stolen  was  blunt,  so  that  the  work  was  prodigiously 
slow  and  difficult;  and  when  I  had  been  at  it  for  half  an 
hour  or  more,  I  was  interrupted  in  a  way  that  sent  my 
heart  almost  into  my  mouth.  There  was  a  man  standing 
on  the  poop  of  the  Labrador,  and  he  seemed  to  be  watching 
my  occupation.  I  threw  myself  flat  instantly,  and  listened 
to  his  hail. 


NO  OARS.  153 

"Ahoy  there,  ypung  'un,  are  you  getting  a  chill?"  cried 
a  bluff  voice,  which  I  did  not  recognise ;  but  presently  the 
man  Four-Eyes  hailed  also,  and  I  heard  him  say — 

"If  it's  deatl  ye  are,  will  ye  be  sending  word  up  to  us?'' 
and,  seeing  the  mood,  I  bawled  with  all  my  strength — 

"I'm  all  right;  but  I'll  call  out  for  some  more  of  that 
soup  of  yours  just  now." 

They  gave  a  great  shout,  and  one  of  them  said — 

"You  ken  calcerlate  ez  you  will  be  gettin'  it  all  nice  en' 
hot  when  you  meet  the  old  'un  in  the  mornin';"  and  the 
crew  roared  with  laughter  at  the  sally,  and  disappeared 
one  by  one  from  the  poop.  Then  I  whipped  out  my  knife 
again,  and  with  a  few  vigorous  strokes  I  cut  the  rope  clean 
through,  and  felt  my  boat  go  swirling  away  on  the  back- 
wash. It  was  a  moment  of  supreme  excitement,  and  I 
lay  quite  flat,  waiting  to  hear  if  I  were  missed ;  but  I 
heard  no  sound,  and  looking  around  me  presently,  I  saw 
the  yacht  a  mile  away,  and  I  knew  that  I  was  a  free  man. 

The  delight  of  the  enterprise  would  have  been  intense  if 
my  unexpected  success  had  not  allowed  me  to  forget  qrje 
thing  when  I  had  made  my  hasty  plans.  There  were  no 
oars  in  the  boat.  The  terrible  truth  came  to  me  as  I  fixed 
the  seat  and  prepared  to  put  greater  distance  between  the 
Labrador  and  myself.  But  one  look  round  convinced  me 
that  the  position  was  hopeless.  With  the  exception  of  the 
tarpaulins,  the  seats,  and  the  tiller,  the  boat  was  unfur- 
nished. As  I  thought  of  these  things,  and  remembered 
that  I  was  some  hundreds  of  miles  from  land,  that  I  had 
a  couple  of  biscuits  for  food,  and  half  a  flask  of  brandy 
and  water  for  drink,  I  experienced  a  terror  greater  than 
any  I  have  known ;  and  so  weak  was  I  with  sickness,  and 
sp  lew  with  the  disappointment  of  it,  that  I  put  my  head 


154          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

between  my  hands  and  sobbed  like  a  great  child  who  has 
known  a  childish  sorrow.  Only  when  the  tears  had  dried 
upon  my  face,  and  there  was  that  after-sense  of  resignation 
which  follows  a  nervous  outbreak,  did  I  upbraid  myself 
for  a  weakling,  and  set  to  think  out  plans  for  my  release. 
I  had  no  compass,  but,  taking  the  north  through  the 
"pointers,"  I  tried  to  make  out  the  course  in  which  I  was 
drifting;  yet  this,  I  must  confess,  was  a  hopeless  task.  I 
thought  that  the  boat  was  being  carried  by  a  steady  cur- 
rent; yet  whether  the  current  set  towards  the  land  or  away 
from  it,  I  could  not  tell. 

When  a  couple  of  hours  had  passed,  and  I  could  see  the 
yacht  no  longer,  I  took  a  new  consolation  in  the  thought 
that  I  must,  after  all,  be  in  the  track  of  steamers  bound  out 
from,  or  to,  New  York;  and  in  this  hope  I  covered  myself 
in  the  tarpaulins  and  lay  down  again  to  shield  myself  from 
the  wind  which  blew  with  much  sharpness  as  the  night 
grew.  I  did  not  sleep,  but  lay  half-dazed  for  an  hour  or 
more,  and  was  roused  only  at  a  curious  light  which  flashed 
above  me  in  the  sky.  Its  first  aspect  led  me  to  the  con- 
clusion that  I  saw  a  reflection  of  the  Aurora ;  but  a  second 
flash  altered  the  opinion.  The  light  was  clearly  focussed, 
being  a  volume  of  intensely  bright,  white  rays  which  passed 
right  above  me  with  slow  and  guided  motion,  and  then 
stopped  altogether,  almost  fixed  upon  the  jolly-boat.  I 
knew  then  what  it  was,  and  I  sat  up  to  see  the  great  beams 
of  a  man-of-war's  search-light,  showing  an  arc  of  the  water 
almost  as  clear  as  by  the  sun's  power.  The  vessel  itself  I 
could  not  make  out;  but  I  feared  at  once  that  fate  had 
sent  me  straight  to  the  nameless  ship;  and  that  the  very 
misfortune  I  had  thought  to  have  undone  was  brought 
home  to  me.  Yet  I  could  not  take  one  step  to  defend  my- 


THE  ARC  OF  LIGHT.  155 

self,  and  must  perforce  drift  on,  to  what  end  I  knew  not. 
The  light  shone  in  all  its  brightness  for  some  five  min- 
utes, then  died  away  suddenly,  and  on  the  spot  whence  it 
had  come  I  could  just  distinguish  the  dark  hull  of  a 
steamer.  To  my  vast  consolation,  she  had  two  funnels 
and  three  masts,  and  I  remembered  that  Black's  boat  had 
but  one  funnel  and  two  masts,  so  that  good  fortune  seemed 
to  have  come  to  me  at  last.  Over-delighted  with  the  dis- 
covery, I  stood  up  at  my  risk  in  the  jolly-boat  and  waved 
my  arms  wildly;  when,  as  if  in  answer,  the  search-light 
flashed  out  again  and  bathed  me  in  its  refulgent  beams. 
Some  moments,  long  moments  to  me,  passed  in  feverish 
conjecture;  and  then  in  the  pathway  of  the  light  I  saw  in 
all  distinctness  the  outline  of  a  long-boat,  fully  manned, 
and  she  was  coming  straight  to  me.  There  could  be  no 
more  doubt  of  it;  I  had  passed  through  much  suffering, 
but  it  was  all  child's  play  to  the  "might  have  been;"  and 
in  the  reaction  I  laughed  aloud  like  an  hysterical  woman, 
and  blushed  to  remember  those  great  tears  which  had 
rolled  over  my  face  not  an  hour  gone.  And  all  the  time  I 
never  took  my  eyes  from  the  boat;  but  feasted  on  it  as  a 
beggar-child  feasts  in  imagination  on  the  gauds  of  a 
groaning  table.  Its  progress  seemed  slow,  woefully  slow; 
the  men  in  it  made  me  no  manner  of  signal,  never  gave  an 
answer  to  my  erratic  hand-waving ;  but,  what  was  of  more 
consequence,  they  came  in  a  bee-line  towards  me,  and  the 
radiating  light  never  moved  once  whilst  they  rowed.  In 
the  end,  I  myself  broke  the  silence,  shouting  lustily  to 
them,  but  getting  no  answer  until  I  had  repeated  the  call 
thrice.  The  fourth  cry,  loud  and  in  something  desperate, 
brought  the  response  so  eagerly  awaited ;  but  when  I  rec- 
ognised the  voice  of  him  who  then  hailed  me  I  fell  down 


156  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

again  in  my  boat  with  a  heart-stricken  burst  of  sorrow,  for 
the  voice  was  the  Irishman's,  and  Four-Eyes  spoke — 

"Avast  hailin',  young  'un,"  he  cried;  "we  ain't  goin' 
to  part  along  o'  your  society  no  more,  don't  you  be 
frettin'." 

They  dragged  me  into  their  boat,  and,  taking  my  own 
in  tow,  they  rowed  rapidly  to  the  distant  steamer,  on 
whose  deck  I  stood  presently;  but  not  without  profound 
fear,  for  I  knew  that  at  last  I  was  a  prisoner  on  the  name- 
less ship. 


157 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

.    .  \ 

A   CABIN   IN    SCARLET. 

THERE  was  light  from  six  lanterns,  held  by  giant  negroes, 
to  greet  me  when  I  had  mounted  the  ladder  and  was  at 
last  on  the  deck  of  the  great  ship;  but  none  of  the  men 
spoke  a  word,  nor  could  I  see  their  faces.  Of  those  who 
had  brought  me  from  the  jolly-boat,  I  recognised  two  be- 
sides "Four-Eyes"  as  men  whom  I  had  seen  in  Paris,  but 
the  Irishman  appeared  to  be  the  captain  of  them;  arid,  in 
lack  of  other  leader,  he  spoke  when  all  were  aboard,  but  it 
was  in  a  monosyllable.  "Aft!"  he  said,  looking  round  td 
see  if  anyone  else  was  near;  and  one  of  the  men  silently 
touched  me  upon  the  shoulder,  and  I  followed  him  along  a 
narrow  strip  of  iron  deck,  past  a  great  turret  which  reared 
itself  above  me,  and  again  by  the  covered  forms  of  quick- 
firing  guns.  We  descended  a  short  ladder  to  a  lower 
deck ;  and  so  to  the  companion  way,  and  to  a  narrow  pas- 
sage in  which  were  many  doors.  One  of  these  h£  opened, 
and  motioned  me  to  enter,  when  the  door  was  closed  noise- 
lessly behind  me,  and  I  found  myself  alone. 

My  first  feeling  was  one  of  intense  surprise.  I  had 
looked  to  enter  a  prison ;  but,  if  that  were  A  prison,  then 
were  lack  of  liberty  shorn  of  half  its  terrors.  The  cabin 
was  not  large,  but  one  more  artistic  in  effect  was  never 
built.  Hung  all  round  with  poppy-coloured  silk,  the 
same  material  made  curtains  for  the  bunk — which  seemed 
of  unusual  size,  and  furnished  with  sleep-bespeaking  mat- 
tresses. It  was  employed  also  for  the  cushions  and  cover- 


158  THE  SILlDOlf  ON  THE  SEA. 

ing  of  the  arm-chair  and  the  couch,  and  to  drape  the 
dressing-glass  and  basin  which  were  in  the  left-hand  cor- 
ner. It  seemed,  indeed,  that  the  whole  room  was  a  har- 
mony in  scarlet,  with  a  scarlet  ceiling  and  scarlet  hangings  ; 
but  the  luxury  of  it  was  unmistakable,  and  the  feet  sank 
above  the  ankles  in  the  soft  Indian  rug,  which  was  ornate 
with  the  quaint  mosaic-like  workings  and  penetrating  col- 
ours of  all  Eastern  tapestry.  For  light,  there  was  an  arc- 
lamp,  veiled  with  gauze  of  the  faintest  yellow;  and  upon 
the  table  in  the  centre  was  a  decanter  of  wine  and  a  box 
of  cigars.  The  room  would  have  been  perfect  but  for  a 
horrid  blot  upon  it — a  blot  which  stared  at  me  from  the 
outer  wall  with  bloodshot  eyes  and  hideous  visage.  It  was 
the  picture  of  a  man's  head  that  had  been  severed  from  the 
body;  and  was  repulsive  enough  to  have  been  painted  by 
Wiertz  himself.  The  picture  almost  terrified  me,  but  I 
thought,  If  no  worse  harm  befall  me  what  odds?  and  I 
sat  down,  all  wondering  and  dazed,  and  drew  a  cigar 
from  the  box  upon  the  table.  The  wine,  of  which  I  drank 
nearly  a  tumblerful,  put  new  courage  of  a  sort  into  me; 
and  so,  troubled  and  amazed,  I  began  to  ask  myself  what 
the  proceeding  meant,  or  what  the  portent  of  it  all  could 
possibly  be. 

My  conclusion  was,  when  I  thought  the  whole  position 
out,  that  the  man  Black  could  be  showing  me  this  marked 
consideration  only  for  some  motive  of  self-interest.  It  was 
evident  that  he  had  been  aware  of  my  intention  to  follow 
him  from  the  moment  when  Roderick  purchased  our  new 
steam-yacht.  He  had  put  one  of  his  own  men  craftily  up- 
on the  ship  to  watch  us,  and  had  made  a  bold  attempt  to 
deal  with  us  in  mid-Atlantic.  Foiled  there,  he  had  taken 
advantage  of  my  folly  in  entering  such  a  place  as  the  Bow- 
ery, and  had  given  orders  that  I  should  be  carried  to  his 


A  FLOATING  TOMB.  159 

own  ship — for  I  knew  then  that  the  strange  craft  he 
owned  was  capable  of  many  disguises — and  should  be 
carried  alive.  Why  alive,  if  not  that  he  might  learn  all 
about  me,  or  that  a  more  dreadful  fate  than  mere  death 
should  be  mine?  I  had  seen  the  appalling  end  of  poor 
Hall,  the  merciless  severity  with  which  his  death  had  been 
compassed ;  why  should  I  expect  more  gentle  usage  or 
other  recompense?  If  ever  man  had  been  trapped,  I  had 
been;  and,  beneath  all  my  placid  self-restraint,  I  felt  that 
my  life  was  not  wTorth  an  hour's — nay,  perhaps  ten  min- 
utes'— purchase.  It  was  as  if  I  had  been  taken  clean  out 
of  the  world  with  no  man  to  extend  me  a  helping  hand. 
Roderick,  truly,  would  move  Heaven  and  earth  to  reach 
me,  but  what  could  he  hope  for  against  such  a  crew;  or 
how  should  I  expect  to  be  alive  when  he  brought  his  at- 
tempts to  a  head  ?  And  I  thought  of  him  with  deep  feel- 
ings of  friendship  at  that  moment,  and  wondered  what 
Mary  would  say.  She  will  be  serious,  I  argued,  for  the 
first  time  in  her  life,  and  they  will  know  much  anxiety. 
Yet  that  must  be — in  the  floating  tomb  where  I  lay  I 
could  hope  to  send  no  word  to  the  living  world  which  I 
had  left. 

I  had  smoked  one  cigar  in  the  cabin,  listening  to  the 
tremendous  throb  of  the  ship's  screws,  and  the  swish  of 
the  sea  as  we  cleaved  it,  when  the  electric  light  went  out, 
and  I  was  left  in  darkness.  The  sudden  change  gave  me 
some  alarm,  and  I  cocked  my  revolver,  being  resolute  to 
account  for  one  man  at  least,  if  any  attempt  were  made  up- 
on me ;  but  when  I  had  sat  quite  still  for  some  half-an-hour 
there  was  no  noise  of  movement  save  on  the  deck  above, 
and  my  own  cabin  remained  as  still  as  the  grave.  It  ap- 
peared that  I  was  to  be  left  unmolested  for  that  night  at 
any  rate ;  and,  being  something  of  a  philosopher,  I  waited 


160          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

for  another  hour  or  so,  and  finding  that  no  one  came  near 
me,  I  undressed  and  lay  down  in  one  of  the  most  seduc- 
tive beds  I  have  met  with  at  sea.  I  did,  indeed,  take  the 
precaution  of  putting  my  Colt  under  the  pillow ;  but  I  was 
so  weary  and  fatigued  with  my  sufferings  in  the  open  boat 
that  I  fell  asleep  at  once,  and  must  have  slept  for  many 
hours. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    PRISON    OF    STEEL. 

I  AWOKE  in  the  day,  but  at  what  hour  of  it  I  know  not. 
The  red  curtains  opposite  to  my  bunk  were  drawn  back, 
admitting  dull  light  from  a  port-hole  through  which  I 
could  look  upon  a  tumbling  sea,  and  a  sky  all  girt  with 
rain-clouds.  But  I  had  not  been  awake  five  seconds 
when  I  saw  that  my  arm-chair  was  occupied  by  a  man 
who  did  not  look  more  than  thirty  years  old,  and  was 
dressed  with  all  the  scrupulous  neatness  of  a  thorough- 
going yachtsman.  He  was  wearing  a  peaked  cloth  cap 
with  a  gold  eagle  upon  it,  a  short  jacket  of  blue  serge, 
with  ample  trousers  to  match,  and  a  neat  pair  of  brown 
shoes;  while  his  linen  would  have  touched  the  heart  even 
of  the  most  hardened  blanchisseuse  of  the  city.  He  had  a 
bright  open  face,  marred  dnly  by  a  peculiarly  irritating 
movement  of  the  eye^  which  told  of  a  nervous  disposition ; 
and  there  wds  something  refined  and  polished  in  his  voice, 
which  I  heard  almost  at  once. 

"Good  morning  to  you,"  he  said;  "I  hope  you  have 
slept  well?" 

"I  have  never  slept  better;  it  must  be  twelve  o'clock, 
isn't  it?" 

"It's  exactly  half-past  three,  American  time.  I  didn't 
wake  you  before,  because  sleep  is  the  best  medicine  in 
your  case.  I'm  a  doctor,  you  know." 

"Oh!  you're  the  physician-in-ordinary  to  the  crewj  I 
suppose;  you  must  see  a  good  deal  of  practice." 

He  looked  rather  surprised  at  my  meaning  remark,  and 
then  said  quite  calmly,  "Yes,  I  write  a  good  many  death 


1 62          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

certificates;  who  knows,  I  may  even  do  that  service  for 
you  ?" 

It  was  said  half-mockingly,  half-threateningly ;  but  it 
brought  home  to  me  at  once  the  situation  in  which  I  was; 
and  I  must  have  become  serious,  which  he  saw,  and  en- 
deavoured to  turn  me  to  a  lighter  mood. 

"You  must  be  hungry,"  he  exclaimed;  "I  will  ring  for 
breakfast;  and,  if  you  would  take  a  tub,  your  bathroom 
is  here." 

He  opened  the  door  in  the  passage,  and  led  the  way  to 
a  cabin  furnished  with  marble  and  brass  fittings,  wherein 
was  a  full-sized  bath  and  all  the  appurtenances  for  dress- 
ing. I  took  a  bath,  and  found  him  waiting  for  me  when  I 
had  finished.  We  returned  to  the  scarlet  room,  and  there 
spread  upon  the  table  was  a  meal  worthy  of  Delmonico's. 
There  was  coffee  served  with  thick  cream;  there  were 
choice  dishes  of  meat,  game,  pies,  new  rolls,  fruit,  and  the 
whole  was  finished  with  ices  and  bon-bons  in  the  true 
American  fashion.  My  new  friend,  the  doctor,  said  noth- 
ing as  I  ate;  but  when  the  repast  was  removed  he  pushed 
the  cigars  to  me,  and  taking  one  himself,  he  began  to  talk 
at  once. 

"I  regret,"  he  said,  "that  I  cannot  supply  you  with  a 
morning  paper;  but  the  latest  journal  that  I  can  lend 
you  is  a  copy  of  the  New  York  World  of  Saturday  last. 
There  is  a  passage  in  it  which  may  interest  you." 

The  paper  was  folded  and  marked  in  a  certain  spot.  I 
read  it  with  blank  amazement,  for  it  was  a  full  account  of 
the  nameless  ship's  attack  upon  the  American  cruiser  and 
the  Ocean  King.  The  paper  stated  shortly  that  both  ships 
had  been  impudently  stopped  in  mid-Atlantic  by  a  big 
war-vessel  flying  the  Chilian  flag;  that  the  cruiser  had 
been  seriously  damaged  and  had  lost  twenty  of  her  men; 


PROFOUND  SENS4TION.  163 

while  a  shell  had  been  fired  into  the  fo'castle  of  the  pas- 
senger-ship and  two  of  her  men  killed,  with  such  other  de- 
tails as  you  know.  The  matter  was  the  subject  of  a  pro- 
found sensation,  not  only  in  America,  but  throughout  the 
world.  The  Chilian  Government  had  been  approached 
at  once,  but  had  repudiated  all  knowledge  of  the  mysteri- 
ous ship.  Meanwhile  war-vessels  from  England,  Amer- 
ica, and  from  France  had  set  out  to  scour  the  seas  and 
bring  such  intelligence  as  they  could.  The  whole  account 
concluded  with  the  rumour  that  a  gentleman  in  New  York 
had  knowledge  of  the  affair  and  would  at  once  be  inter- 
viewed, with  the  result,  it  was  hoped,  of  disclosing  that 
which  would  be  one  of  the  sensations  of  the  century. 

When  I  had  put  the  paper  down,  the  doctor,  who  fol- 
lowed me  with  his  eyes,  said  laughingly — 

"You  see  that  interview  was  unfortunately  interrupted. 
You  are  the  gentleman  with  the  full  particulars,  for  we 
know  that  your  friend  Stewart  plays  a  very  small  part  in 
the  affair.  Without  your  energy,  I  think  I  may  say  that 
he  is  little  less  than  a  fool." 

"Hardly  that,  as  you  may  yet  discover,"  I  said,  seeing 
instantly  which  way  safety  lay;  "he  knows  as  much  as  I 
know." 

"Which  is  not  very  much  after  all,  is  it? — but  that  we 
must  have  fuller  knowledge  of.  I  am  here  to  ask  you  to 
write  accurately  for  us  a  complete  account  of  every  step 
you  have  taken  in  this  matter  since  you  were  fool  enough 
to  follow  Martin  Hall,  and  poke  your  nose  into  business 
which  did  not  concern  you.  As  you  know,  Hall  was  pun- 
ished in  the  Channel ;  you  saw  his  end,  as  I  hear  from  my 
comrade  Paolo.  We  have  spared  you,  and  may  yet  spare 
you,  if  you  do  absolutely  what  we  tell  you." 


164  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"And  otherwise?" 

He  smiled  cruelly,  and  his  eyes  danced  when  he  an- 
swered— 

''Otherwise,  you  would  give  all  you  possessed  if  I  would 
shoot  you  now  as  you  sit;  but  don't  let  us  look  at  it  that 
way.  You  must  see  that  your  case  is  utterly  hopeless ;  you 
will  never  look  again  on  any  civilised  city,  or  see  the  face 
of  a  man  you  have  known.  For  all  purposes  you  are  as 
dead  as  though  twenty  feet  of  earth  covered  you.  If  you 
would  still  have  life,  not  altogether  under  unfavourable 
conditions,  you  have  but  to  ask  for  pen,  ink  and  paper — 
and  to  make  yourself  one  of  us." 

"That  I  will  never  do!" 

"Oh,  you  say  that  now;  but  we  shall  give  you  some 
days  to  think  of  it.  Let  me  advise  you  to  be  a  man  of 
common-sense,  and  not  to  run  your  head  against  a  stone 
wall.  Believe  me,  we  are  a  curious  company;  I  don't  sup- 
pose there  is  a  man  aboard  us  who  has  not  some  deaths  to 
his  account.  I  am  wanted  for  a  murder  in  Shropshire; 
but  I  am  giving  your  people  a  little  trouble.  Ha!  ha!" 

This  was  said  with  such  a  fearful  laugh  that  I  shrank 
back  from  the  man,  who  restrained  himself  with  an  effort 
as  he  rose  to  go;  but  as  he  stood  at  the  door,  he  said — 

"We  are  now  bound  on  a  four-days'  voyage.  During 
these  four  days,  you  need  fear  nothing.  We  should  have 
paid  off  our  score  in  the  Atlantic,  and  sent  you  and  your 
fellows  to  join  other  intrusive  friends  of  ours,  if  we  had 
not  wished  to  get  this  little  account  of  yours.  So  don't 
disturb  yourself  unnecessarily  until  Captain  Black  puts 
the  question  to  you.  Then,  if  you  are  foolish,  you  had  bet- 
ter feed  your  courage.  I  have  seen  stronger  men  than  you 
who  have  cried  out  for  death  when  we  had  but  put  our 


I  COME  TO  A  CONCLUSION.  165 

fingers  on  them ;  and  we  shall  do  you  full  honour — in 
fact,  we  shall  treat  you  royally." 

When  he  was  gone,  I  thought  that  he  had  spoken  with 
truth.  To  all  my  friends  I  was  as  dead  as  though  twenty 
feet  of  earth  lay  on  my  body.  What  hope  had  I,  shut  in 
that  grave  of  steel  ?  What  friend  could  hear  me,  battened 
in  that  prison  on  the  sea?  Should  I  tell  the  men  frankly 
all  I  knew,  and  crave  their  mercy,  or  should  I  seek  hope 
in  the  pretence  that  Roderick  had  information  which  might 
yet  be  fatal  to  them?  I  thought  the  position  out,  and  this 
was  the  sum  of  it.  These  men  had  a  home  somewhere. 
If  I  had  known  where  that  home  was,  and  had  communi- 
cated the  knowledge  to  Roderick,  then  the  Governments 
of  Europe  could  bring  the  ruffian  crew  to  book  with  little 
difficulty.  That,  without  doubt,  was  the  question  Black 
would  put  to  me.  He  would  wish  to  know  all  I  knew; 
but,  if  I  refused  to  tell  him,  he  would  proceed  to  ex- 
tremes, and  I  shuddered  when  I  remembered  what  his  ex- 
tremes had  been  in  the  case  of  Hall.  The  man  undoubt- 
edly had  conceived  a  scheme  daring  beyond  any  known  in 
the  nineteenth  century.  The  knowledge  of  his  hiding- 
place  was  the  key  to  his  safety.  If  Roderick  had  it,  then, 
indeed,  I  might  have  looked  for  life;  but  I  knew  that  Hall 
had  never  discovered  it,  and  what  hope  had  Roderick 
where  the  greater  skill  had  failed? 

This  conversation  led  me  to  one  conclusion.  I  would 
pretend  that  I  had  some  knowledge,  and  that  my  friends 
had  it  too.  If  that  did  not  save  my  life,  God  alone  could 
help  me,  and  the  home  of  Captain  Black  would  be  my 
grave.  Nor  did  I  know  in  any  case  that  I  had  much  ex- 
pectation of  life  in  such  surroundings  or  in  such  com- 
pany. 


1 66 
CHAPTER  XVI. 

NORTHWARD   HO ! 

DURING  some  days  I  saw  no  more  of  the  doctor,  or  of  any- 
one about  the  ship  save  an  old  negro,  who  became  my  serv- 
ant.    He  was  not  an  unkindly-looking  man,  being  of  a 
great  age,  and  somewhat  feeble  in  his  actions ;  but  he  never 
(tpened  his  lips  when  I  questioned  him,  and  gave  a  plain 
"Yes"  or  "No"  to  any  demand.    Those  days  would  have 
been  monotonous,   had   it  not  been   for   the  ever-present 
sense  of  coming  danger,  of  a  future  dark  and  threatening, 
likely  to  be  fruitful  in  trial  and  in  peril.     Each  morning 
at  an  early  hour  the  age-worn  black  entered  my  cabin  and 
told  me  that  my  bath  was  ready.    When  I  was  dressed,  a 
breakfast,  generous  in  quality  and  in  quantity,  was  set  up- 
on my  cabin  table.    At  one  o'clock  luncheon  of  like  excel- 
lence was  served ;  and  again  at  five  o'clock  and  at  eight, 
tea  and  dinner.     Some  thought  evidently  was  given  to  my 
condition,  for  on  the  second  morning  I  found  clean  linen 
with  a  neat  suit  of  blue  serge  awaiting  me  in  the  bath- 
room, and  when  I  had  breakfasted,  the  black  brought  a 
parcel  of  books  to  me ;  I  found  amongst  them,  to  my  satis- 
faction, several  light  works  by  Bret  Harte,  Mark  Twain, 
and  Max  Adeler,  as  well  as  more  solid  literary  food.  The 
books  saved  me  from  much  of  that  foreboding  which  I 
should  have  known  wanting  them,  and  after  the  first  fears 
had  passed  I  spent  the  hours  in  reading  or  looking  through 
the  port-hole  over  the  deserted  waste  of  fretful  sea.     I  had 
hoped  to  learn  something  of  our  destination  from  this  dili- 
gent watching  of  the  waves ;  but  for  the  first  forty  hours, 


&XOW-WHITE  PINNACLES  167 

at  any  rate,  I  sa\v  nothing — not  so  much  as  a  small  ship — 
though  it  fell  much  colder!  and  again  on  the  third  day  the 
lower  temperature  was  yet  more  marked,  so  that  I  wel- 
comed fresh  and  warmer  clothing  which  the  negro  brought 
me  for  my  bed ;  and  observed  with  satisfaction  that  there 
were  means  within  the  ship  for  heating  the  cabin  during 
the  day-time. 

It  must  have  been  on  the  fourth  day  after  my  capture 
that  the  nameless  ship,  which  hitherto  had  not  been  speed- 
ing at  an  abnormal  pace,  began  to  go  very  fast,  the  rush 
of  water  from  the  head  of  her  rising  frequently  above  my 
port,  and  permitting  but  rare  views  of  the  distant  horizon. 
The  greater  speed  was  sustained  during  that  day  until  the 
first  dog-watch,  when  I  was  disturbed  in  my  reading  by 
the  consciousness  that  the  ship  had  stopped,  and  that  there 
was  much  agitation  on  deck.  I  looked  from  my  window 
and  observed  the  cause  of  the  confusion,  for  there,  ahead  of 
us  a  mile  or  more,  was  one  of  the  largest  icebergs  I  have 
ever  seen.  The  mighty  mass,  from  whose  sides  the  water 
was  rushing  as  in  little  cataracts,  towered  above  the  sea 
to  a  height  of  four  or  five  hundred  feet,  rising  up  in  three 
snow-white  pinnacles  which  caught  the  crimson  light  of 
the  sinking  sun  and  gave  it  back  in  prismatic  hues,  all 
dazzling  and  beautiful.  As  a  great  island  of  ice,  all  rich 
in  waving  colour  and  superb  majesty,  the  berg  passed  on, 
and  the  screw  of  the  steamer  was  hrard  again.  I  watched 
intently,  hoping  to  see  other  bergs,  or,  indeed,  any  ships 
that  should  tell  me  Kow  far  we  had  gone  towards  the 
North;  but  the  night  fell  suddenly,  and  the  negro  served 
dinner,  asking  me  if  I  had  warmth  enough.  My  curt 
answer  seemed  to  astonish  him;  but  the  truth  wyas  that  I 
was  thinking  of  the  man  Paolo's  words  when  sick  upon 


168          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

my  own  ship.  He  had  cried,  "Ice,  ice,"  more  than  once 
in  his  delirium ;  but  none  of  us  then  had  the  meaning  of 
his  cry.  Yet  I  had  it,  and  with  it  a  notion  of  the  second 
secret  of  Captain  Black.  For  surely  he  was  running  to 
hiding;  and  his  hiding-place  lay  to  the  north,  far  above  the 
course  even  of  Canadian-bound  vessels,  as  I  knew  by  the 
number  of  days  we  had  been  steaming. 

This  new  surmise  on  strange  openings  did  not  in  any 
way  combat  the  terror  which  visited  me  so  often  in  that 
floating  prison.  Every  day,  indeed,  seemed  to  take  me  far- 
ther from  humanity,  from  friends,  from  the  lands  and  the 
peoples  of  civilisation.  Every  day  confirmed  me  in  the 
thought  that  I  was  hopelessly  in  this  man's  grip,  the  vic- 
tim of  his  mercy,  or  his  rigour ;  that  none  would  know  of 
my  end  when  that  end  should  come;  no  man  say  "God 
help  you!"  when  at  last  the  fellow  should  show  his  teeth. 
Such  dire  communings  robbed  me  of  my  sleep  at  night;  led 
me  to  books  whose  pages  passed  blurred  before  me;  made 
me  start  at  every  rap  upon  the  cabin  door;  brought  me  to 
fear  death  even  in  the  very  food  I  ate.  Yet  during  the 
week  I  was  a  prisoner  on  the  ship  no  harm  of  any  sort 
befell  me.  I  was  treated  with  the  hospitality  of  a  great 
mansion,  served  with  all  I  asked,  unmolested  save  for  the 
doctor's  threat. 

And  so  the  time  passed,  the  weather  growing  colder  day 
by  day,  the  bergs  more  frequent  about  my  windows ;  until 
on  the  evening  of  the  seventh  day  the  ship  stopped  sud- 
denly, and  I  heard  the  anchor  let  go.  This  was  late  in 
the  watch,  at  the  time  when  I  was  in  the  habit  of  going 
to  bed ;  but  hearing  great  movement  and  business  on  the 
deck  I  sat  still,  waiting  for  what  should  come;  and  after 
the  lapse  of  an  hour  or  more  I  found  that  we  were  moving 


"THE  MASTER  WAITS."  169 

very  slowly  again,  and  with  but  occasional  movements  of 
the  screw.  I  opened  my  port,  and  could  hear  loud  shout- 
ings from  above,  and  although  there  was  no  light  of  the 
moon,  I  could  see  enough  to  conclude  that  we  were  pass- 
ing by  a  great  wall  of  rock,  and  so  into  some  harbour  or 
basin. 

The  work  of  mooring  the  ship  was  not  a  long  one  when 
once  we  had  come  to  a  stand.  When  all  was  done  the 
noise  ceased,  and  no  one  coming  to  me  I  went  to  bed  as 
usual.  On  the  next  morning  I  got  up  at  daybreak,  and 
looked  eagerly  from  my  spying  place ;  but  I  could  discern 
only  a  blank  cliff  of  rock,  the  ship  being  now  moored 
against  the  very  side  of  it.  The  negro  came  to  me  at  the 
usual  hour,  but  he  brought  a  note  with  my  breakfast ;  and 
I  read  an  invitation  to  dine  with  Captain  Black  at  eight 
o'clock  on  that  evening.  You  may  be  sure  that  I  wel- 
comed even  such  a  prospect  of  change,  for  the  monotony  of 
the  cabin  prison  had  become  nigh  unbearable;  and  when 
at  a  quarter  to  eight  that  evening  the  old  man  threw  open 
the  door  and  said,  "The  Master  waits!"  I  went  with 
him  almost  joyfully,  even  though  the  next  step  might 
have  been  to  my  open  grave. 

He  led  the  way  up  the  companion  ladder,  which  was,  in 
fact,  a  broad  staircase,  elaborately  lit  with  the  electric 
light;  and  so  brought  me  to  the  deck,  where  there  was 
darkness  save  in  one  spot  above  the  fore-turret.  There  a 
lantern  threw  a  great  volume  of  white  light  which  spread 
out  upon  the  sea,  and  showed  me  at  once  that  we  were  in 
a  cove  of  some  breadth,  surrounded  by  prodigiously  high 
cliffs;  and  the  light  being  focussed  straight  across  the  bay, 
disclosed  a  cleft  in  these  rocks  leading  apparently  to  a  fur- 
ther cove  beyond.  I  had  scarce  time  to  get  other  than  a 
rough  idea  of  the  whole  situation,  for  a  boat  was  waiting 


170          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

at  the  gangway,  and  the  negro  motioned  to  me  to  pass 
down  the  ladder  and  take  my  seat  in  the  stern.  The  men 
gave  way  at  once,  keeping  in  the  course  of  the  search-light, 
and  rowing  straight  to  the  cleft  in  the  cliffs,  through  which 
they  passed ;  and  so  left  the  light  and  entered  a  narrower 
fjord,  which  was  ravine-like  in  the  steepness  of  its  sides, 
and  so  dark,  that  one  could  see  but  a  narrow  vista  of  the 
sky  through  the  overhanging  summits  of  the  giant  rocks. 
This  second  cove  opened  after  a  while  into  a  lake,  above 
whose  shores,  at  a  high  spot  in  the  side  of  the  precipice  on 
the  left  hand,  I  observed  many  twinkling  lights,  which 
seemed  to  come  from  windows  far  up  the  face  of  the  cliff. 
These  lights  marked  our  destination,  the  men  rowing 
straight  to  them;  and  I  found,  when  we  came  near  the 
precipitous  shore  which  bound  the  fjord,  that  there  was  a 
rough  landing-stage,  cut  in  the  rock,  and  that  an  iron 
stairway  led  thence  to  the  chambers  which  evidently 
existed  above. 

When  we  had  come  ashore,  and  had  been  received  there 
by  several  men  who  held  lanterns,  and  had  the  look  of 
Lascars,  the  negro  conducting  me  pointed  to  the  iron 
stairway  and  told  me  to  mount,  he  following  me  to  the 
summit,  where  there  was  a  platform  and  an  iron  door. 
The  door  opened  as  we  arrived  before  it,  and  there  standing 
by  it  I  found  the  young  doctor,  who  greeted  me  very 
heartily  and  appeared  to  be  altogether  in  a  merry  mood. 

''Come  in,"  he  said,  "they're  waiting  for  you;  and  this 
infernal  cold  gives  men  appetites.  This  way — but  it  isn't 
very  dark,  is  it?" 

We  were  in  a  broad  passage  lit  by  the  electric  light — a 
passage  cut  in  a  crystal-like  rock,  whose  surface  had  al- 
most the  lustre  of  a  mirror.  At  intervals  facing  the  cove 
were  incisions  for  windows,  but  these  were  now  hung  over 


A  ROOM  HUNG  WITH  SKINS.          171 

with  heavy  curtains;  and  there  were  cupboards  and  pegs 
against  the  rock  wall  on  the  opposite  side  to  make  the  place 
serve  the  purposes  of  a  hall.  The  passage  led  up  to  a  sec- 
ond door — this  one  built  of  fine  American  walnut ;  and  we 
passed  through  it  at  once  into  a  room  where  I  was  aston- 
ished to  see  indisputable  evidence  of  civilisation  and  of  re- 
finement. The  whole  chamber  was  hung  round  with  su- 
perb skins,  the  white  fur  of  the  Polar  bear  predominating; 
but  there  were  couches  cushioned  with  deep  brown  seal ; 
and  the  same  glossy  skin  was  laid  upon  the  floor  in  so  many 
layers  that  the  footfall  was  noiseless  and  pleasantly  luxu- 
riant. The  furniture  otherwise  was  both  modern  and  ar- 
tistic. A  heavy  buhl-work  writing-table  opposite  the  door 
was  littered  with  maps,  books,  and  journals;  there  was  a 
secretaire  book-case,  in  Chippendale,  by  the  side  of  the 
enormous  fire-place,  in  which  a  great  coal  fire  burned ;  and 
above  this  was  an  ivory  overmantel  of  exquisite  work;  a 
grand  piano,  open  and  bearing  music,  was  the  chief  orna- 
ment of  the  left-hand  corner;  while  another  Chippendale 
cabinet,  filled  with  a  multitude  of  rare  curiosities,  com- 
pleted an  apartment  which  had  many  of  the  characteristics 
of  a  salon  and  not  a  few  of  a  study. 

But  I  had  not  eyes  so  much  for  the  room  as  for  the 
solitary  occupant  of  it,  who  sat  before  the  writing-table, 
but  rose  after  I  had  entered.  One  glance  assured  me  that 
I  was  face  to  face  with  Captain  Black — the  Captain  Black 
I  had  seen  at  the  drunken  orgie  in  Paris;  but  yet  not  the 
same,  for  all  the  bravado  and  rough  speech  which  then  fell 
from  his  lips  was  wanting;  and  his  "Come  in!"  given  in 
answer  to  the  young  doctor's  knock,  was  spoken  melo- 
diously in  a  rich  baritone  voice  that  fell  very  pleasantly 
upon  the  ear.  When  he  stepped  forward  and  held  out  his 
hand  to  me,  I  had  the  mind  almost  to  draw  back  from 


172          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

him,  for  I  knew  that  the  man  had  crime  heavy  upon  him ; 
but  a  second  thought  convinced  me  of  the  folly  of  making 
a  scene  at  such  a  moment ;  so  I  took  the  great  hard  hand 
and  looked  him  full  in  the  face.  He  was  not  so  tall  as  I 
was,  but  a  man  who  appeared  to  possess  colossal  strength 
in  his  enormous  arms  and  shoulders ;  and  one  not  ill-look- 
ing, though  his  black  beard  fell  upon  his  waistcoat,  and  his 
jacket  of  seal  was  loose  and  ill-fitting.  The  strange  thing 
about  our  meeting  was  this,  however.  When  he  had  taken 
my  hand,  he  held  it  for  a  minute  or  more,  looking  me 
straight  in  the  face  with  an  interest  I  could  not  under- 
stand ;  and,  indeed,  he  then  forgot  himself  entirely,  and 
continued  to  gaze  upon  me  and  to  shake  my -hand  until  I 
thought  he  would  never  let  it  go. 

When  at  last  he  recovered  himself  it  was  with  a  quick 
start. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  said  he;  "dinner  awaits  us," 
and  with  that  we  passed  into  another  chamber,  hung  with 
skins  as  the  first  was,  but  containing  a  dining-table  laid  for 
four  persons  in  a  very  elegant  manner,  with  cut  glass,  and 
silver  epergnes  laden  with  luscious-looking  fruit,  and  the 
best  of  linen.  The  light  came  from  electric  lamps  in  the 
ceiling,  and  from  other  lamps  cunningly  placed  in  a  great 
block  of  ice,  which  formed  the  central  ornament.  Nor 
have  I  eaten  a  better  dinner  than  the  one  then  served. 
The  only  servant  was  a  giant  black,  who  waited  with  a 
dexterity  very  singular  in  such  a  place;  and  the  guests  of 
the  Captain  were  the  young  doctor,  the  Scotsman  known 
as  Dick  the  Ranter,  and  myself.  The  Scotsman  alone 
displayed  signs  of  that  rollicking  spirit  of  dare-devil  which 
had  characterised  the  meeting  in  Paris;  but  the  Captain 
soon  silenced  him. 


THE  SCOTSMAN  SAYS  GRACE.         173 

"D'ye  ken  that  we've  no  said  grace?"  remarked  the 
lantern-jawed  fellow,  as  we  sat  to  table;  and  then, 
raising  his  hands  in  impudent  mockery,  he  began  to  mutter 
some  blasphemy,  but  Black  turned  upon  him  as  with  the 
growl  of  a  wild  beast. 

"To  the  devil  with  that,"  said  he.  "Hold  your  tongue, 
man!" 

The  Scotsman  looked  up  at  the  rebuke  as  though  a 
thunderbolt  had  hit  him. 

"Verra  weel,  mon;  verra  weel,"  he  muttered;  "but 
ye're  unco  melancholy  the  nicht,  unco  melancholy."  And 
then  he  fell  to  the  silence  of  consumption,  eating  pro- 
digiously of  all  that  was  set  before  him ;  but  in  high  dudg- 
eon, as  a  man  rebuked  unworthily.  Of  the  others,  the 
doctor  alone  talked,  chatting  fluently  of  many  European 
cities,  and  proving  himself  no  mean  raconteur.  I  listened, 
in  the  hope  of  getting  some  idea  of  what  was  intended  in 
my  case;  also,  if  that  could  be,  of  the  situation  of  this 
strange  place  in  which  I  found  myself;  for  as  yet  I  knew 
not  if  it  were  to  the  North  of  America,  or,  indeed,  in  what 
part  of  the  Arctic  Sea  it  might  be.  To  my  satisfaction 
the  captain  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  the  information 
from  me.  The  first  occasion  of  his  speaking  during  dinner 
was  in  answer  to  a  remark  of  mine  that  I  found  the  room 
very  pleasantly  warm. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "you  must  feel  the  change,  although 
you  will  feel  it  more  when  we  get  winter  here.  You 
know  where  you  are,  of  course." 

I  said  unsuspectingly  that  I  had  not  the  faintest  idea, 
when  he  cast  a  quick  glance  at  the  doctor,  and  the  latter 
slapped  me  on  the  back  quite  joyously. 

"Bravo!"  he  cried.     "That  prevents  our  putting  one 


174          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

unpleasant  question  to  you,  anyway.  I  knew  that  your 
innuendo  in  the  cabin  was  all  make-believe." 

"Of  course  it  was,"  added  the  captain;  "but  the  knowl- 
edge of  it  saves  our  bustling  you.  However,  this  isn't  the 
time  for  talk  of  that  sort.  I  may  tell  you,  since  you  do  not 
know,  that  you  are  on  the  west  coast  of  Greenland,  and 
that  there  is  a  Danish  settlement  not  fifty  miles  from  you 
— although  we  don't  leave  cards  on  our  neighbours." 

He  called  for  champagne  then,  and  gave  a  toast — "The 
new  recruit!"  I  did  not  raise  my  glass  with  the  others, 
which  he  saw,  and  became  stern. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "I  won't  have  you  hurried,  and  you're 
my  guest  until  I  put  the  straight  question  to  you.  When 
that  happens  you  won't  think  twice  about  the  answer,  for 
we  can  be  very  nasty,  I  assure  you.  Now  try  a  cigar. 
These  are  good.  They  came  from  the  collection  of  Lord 
Remingham,  who  was  on  his  way  to  America  a  few  weeks 
ago." 

"And  met  with  an  unfortunate  accident,"  said  the 
doctor,  with  mock  seriousness,  which  was  taken  up  by  the 
Scotsman,  who  remarked  in  his  best  drawl — "May  his 
soul  ken  rest!"  and  they  all  shouted  with  infamous 
laughter;  but  I  listened  with  a  morbid  interest  when  the 
doctor  continued — 

"It's  astonishing  how  good  the  quality  of  the  tobacco 
and  the  champagne  is  on  board  these  ocean-going  steamers ; 
now  this  Bolinger  '84  was  the  special  pride  of  the  skipper 
of  the  Catalonia,  which  unhappily  sank  in  the  Atlantic 
through  the  sheer  impudence  of  the  man  who  commanded 
her.  As  he  liked  it  so  much,  I  broke  a  bottle  over  his 
head  before  we  sent  him  to  the  devil,  with  five  hundred 
others." 


BLACK  RISES.  175 

"Ye  may  say,  in  fact,  that  he  made  the  acquaintance  o' 
the  auld  man  wi'  the  flavour  o'  this  gude  stuff  on  him," 
said  the  Scotsman,  which  made  them  laugh  again;  but 
Black  was  satiated  with  the  banter,  and  he  rose  from  the 
table  suddenly  as  the  man  Four-Eyes  entered. 

"This  pleasant  party  must  disperse,"  he  said  to  me; 
"you  can  go  to  the  quarters  we  have  provided  for  you,  un- 
less you  would  like  to  see  more  of  us.  We  are  well  worth 
seeing,  I  think,  and  we  may  give  you  some  idea  of  our 
other  side." 

"I  should  like  to  see  everything  you  can  show  me,"  I 
replied,  being  aflame  with  curiosity  to  know  all  that  the 
strange  situation  could  teach  me;  and  then  he  made  a 
motion  for  the  others  to  follow,  and  we  passed  from  the 
room. 


176 
CHAPTER  XVII. 

ONE  SHALL   LIVE. 

THE  way  from  the  dining-room  was  through  a  long  pas- 
sage lighted  with  arc  lamps  at  intervals,  and  having  the 
doors  of  many  rooms  on  the  right-hand  side  of  it.  Several 
of  these  doors  were  open ;  and  I  saw  the  interiors  of  well- 
furnished  bedrooms,  of  smaller  sitting-rooms,  and  of  a 
beautifully  furnished  billiard-room.  At  the  end  of  the 
passage,  we  descended  a  flight  of  stairs  to  another  landing, 
where  there  was  a  steep  rock-slope,  leading  right  through 
the  cliff  almost  to  the  level  of  the  water.  This  proved  the 
way  to  a  small  stretch  of  beach  which  was  at  the  upper- 
most end  of  the  fjord ;  and  here  I  found  several  substantial 
buildings  of  stone,  evidently  for  the  use  of  Black's  com- 
pany. The  largest  of  the  houses  seemed  to  be  a  kind  of 
hall,  well  lighted  by  arc  lamps.  Into  this  we  passed,  lift- 
ing a  heavy  curtain  of  skins;  and  seated  there,  on  all  sorts 
of  rough  lounges  and  benches  were  the  men  I  had  seen  in 
Paris,  with  fifty  or  sixty  others,  no  less  ferocious-looking 
or  more  decently  clad.  There  were  negroes  in  light  check 
suits  and  red  flannel  shirts ;  Americans  in  velveteen  coats 
and  trousers;  Italians  muffled  up  in  jerseys;  Spaniards 
playing  cards  before  the  roaring  fire;  half-castes  smoking 
cheroots  and  drinking  from  china  pots;  Englishmen  lying 
wrapped  in  rugs,  asleep,  or  bawling  songs  to  a  small  au- 
dience, which  gave  a  chorus  back  in  mellifluous  curses; 
Russians  drunk  with  spirits;  Frenchmen  chattering;  Chi- 
nese mooningly  silent :  over  all  an  atmosphere  of  smoke  and 
foul  odours,  of  fetid  warmth  and  stifling  heaviness. 


THE  NIGGERS  BRING  CHAMPAGNE.    177 

As  we  entered  the  place  the  din  was  deafening,  a 
medley  of  shouts  and  oaths,  of  songs  and  execrations ;  but 
it  ceased  when  the  captain  bawled  " Silence!"  and  an  un- 
usual stillness  prevailed.  The  man  Four-Eyes,  who  was 
always  the  immediate  "go-between''  so  far  as  the  captain 
and  crew  were  concerned,  at  once  put  chairs  for  us  near 
the  huge  fire-place,  setting  a  great  arm-chair  for  the  skip- 
per, with  a  table  whereon  were  many  papers,  and  a  small 
wooden  hammer  such  as  the  chairman  of  a  meeting  com- 
monly uses.  Black  took  his  seat  in  the  great  chair,  with 
the  doctor,  the  Scotsman,  and  myself  around  him;  and  then 
he  harangued  the  men. 

"Boys,"  he  said,  "we're  home  again.  I  give  you  luck 
on  it — and  swill  it  down  in  liquor." 

I  noticed  that  he  had  put  on  with  his  entry  into  the 
room  all  his  old  fierceness  of  manner  and  coarseness.  He 
shouted  out  his  words  whenever  he  spoke,  and  emphasised 
thern  with  bangs  of  the  hammer  upon  the  table.  The  call 
for  wine  was  answered  by  some  of  the  niggers  fetching  in 
cases  of  champagne,  and  soon  the  stuff  was  running  in 
every  part  of  the  hall.  The  captain  waited  until  the 
men  were  drinking,  and  then  continued: 

"I  guess,  boys,  the  next  thing  to  do  is  to  make  our 
calculations.  We've  had  a  smart  month's  work,  and  there's 
a  matter  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  man  waiting 
for  you  when  next  you  foot  it  in  New  York.  That's  my 
calculation;  and  if  there's  one  of  you  doubts  it,  he  can 
see  the  figures." 

He  waited  for  them  to  speak,  but  they  gave  him  onfy  a 
great  shout  of  approval,  when  he  became  more  serious. 

"You  know,  lads,  there'll  be  a  spell  of  holiday  here  for 
you,  which  you  may  reckon  that  I  regret  as  much  as  any  of 


178          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

you.  The  skipper  of  the  American  cruiser  has  made  hell 
in  Europe,  and  there's  twenty  cruisers  out  after  us  if 
there's  one.  That  I  snap  my  ringers  at;  but  fighting  isn't 
the  game  for  you  and  me,  who  are  looking  for  dollars ;  and 
we  won't  hurt  to  lie  low  until  the  spring.  Has  any  man 
got  anything  to  say  against  that?'' 

There  was  not  a  word  in  answer  to  the  threatening 
question;  and  then  Black,  bracing  himself  up  to  anger, 
went  on — 

"I  now  come  to  speak  of  a  bit  of  business  which  you 
all  want  to  hear  about.  There  was  two  of  you  refused  a 
double  watch  when  we  left  the  Yankee  cruiser.  Let  'em 
step  forward." 

One  man,  a  dark-visaged  Russian,  with  a  yellow  beard, 
stepped  to  the  table  at  the  words,  but  he  was  alone. 

"Where  is  Dave  Skinner?"  asked  the  captain  in  a  calm, 
but  horridly  meaning,  voice. 

"I  guess  he's  sleeping  on  it,"  said  the  man  Roaring 
John,  whom  I  noticed  for  the  first  time,  curled  up  on  a 
bench  in  the  corner,  the  bandages  still  upon  his  face. 

"Kick  him  awake,  the  blear-eyed  bullock,"  said  Black, 
and  the  kicking  was  done  right  heartily;  the  subject,  a 
huge  man  with  dark  hair,  closely  cropped,  and  a  stubby 
beard,  rising  to  his  feet  and  looking  round  him  like  one 
dazed  with  strong  drink. 

"Wall,"  said  he,  speaking  to  Roaring  John,  "you  big- 
booted  swine,  what  d'ye  reckon  ez  you  want  along  o'  me?" 

"Ask  the  skipper,  cuss,"  replied  the  other,  pushing  the 
sleepy  man  forward  to  the  chair  where  the  Russian  stood ; 
and  then  Black  began  to  speak  to  them  quite  calmly — 

"Boys,"  he  said,  "I  got  it  agen  you  that  you  refused 
my  orders,  and  refused  them  at  a  pinch  when  me  and  the 


"GIVE  'EM  KNIFES."  179 

rest  of  'em  ran  for  our  lives.  Each  of  you  lays  the  blame 
for  this  on  the  other,  and  I'm  not  going  to  haggle  about 
that.  You  know  what  we're  bound  by,  and  that  I  can't 
go  beyond  what's  written  any  more  than  you  can  go  beyond 
it.  There  are  two  of  you  in  this,  and  you  settle  your  own 
differences — one  of  you  lives.  John,  give  'em  knives!" 

As  I  heard  these  words,  amazed  and  doubting,  the  men, 
without  any  other  incitement,  and  uttering  no  remark, 
stripped  off  their  coats  and  stood  naked  to  the  waists.  The 
crew  about  left  off  their  games  and  drew  near,  forming  a 
ring  round  the  men,  who  had  taken  up  great  clasp-knives, 
and  were  evidently  to  fight  for  their  very  lives.  I  knew 
then  the  meaning  of  the  words  "One  of  you  lives:"  and 
an  excitement,  strange  and  full  of  morbid  interest,  took 
possession  of  me. 

That  the  men  were  to  fight,  and  fight  to  the  death,  was 
sufficiently  terrible;  but  a  savour  of  horror  was  added 
to  the  dish  by  the  flagrant  unfairness  of  the  conditions 
under  which  they  fought.  The  American,  Skinner,  was 
thickly  built,  and  of  a  sturdy  physique.  He  had  the  better 
of  his  man  in  height,  in  reach,  in  physical  strength;  for 
Tovotsky,  as  I  heard  the  Russian  called,  was  a  man  of 
small  stature,  rather  a  shred  of  a  man,  full  hairy  about  his 
breast,  yet  giving  small  signs  of  hardihood,  or  of  power.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  he  might  well  have  protested  against 
the  manner  of  the  contest,  and  urged  that  a  fight  with 
knives  would  go  to  the  stronger,  skill  being  no  part  of  it; 
but  he  said  nothing,  wearing  an  air  of  sullen  determina- 
tion, while  his  antagonist  bellowed  at  him,  as  though  to 
overawe  him  by  cheap  bravado. 

"Stand  up  right  here,  so  ez  I  ken  stick  you,  boss,"  he 
cried,  when  they  faced  each  other;  adding  as  the  Russian 


i8o          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

dodged  him:  "What,  my  hearty,  have  ye  got  the  taste  of 
it  already? — now  steady,  ye  yellow-haired  buzzard; 
steady,  ye  skunk;  while  I  make  hog's  meat  of  you." 

They  stood  crouched  like  beasts,  or  revolved  about  each 
other,  the  gleaming  blades  poised  in  the  air,  their  left 
hands  seeking  holding-place.  Skinner  struck  first,  his  knife 
shining  bright  against  the  light  as  he  slashed  at  Tovotsky's 
throat,  but  the  Russian  doubled  down  between  his  legs, 
and  the  pair  fell  heavily  a  yard  away  from  each  other. 

"Slit  him  as  he  lies,  Dave!"  "End  him,  Tov!"  "Do 
you  reckon  you're  a-bed?"  These  and  other  equally  ele- 
gant exclamations  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  crew,  as  the 
men  lay  dazed,  fearful  of  mischief  if  they  arose.  But  the 
Russian  was  first  up,  and  springing  at  the  other,  who 
rolled  aside  as  he  came,  he  sent  his  knife  home  in  his  op- 
ponent's back,  and  a  great  shout  of  "First  blood!"  turned 
me  sick  with  the  terror  of  it.  Nor  could  I  look  at  them 
for  some  minutes,  fearing  to  see  a  more  repulsive  spectacle ; 
but  when  next  I  saw  them,  they  were  crouching  again,  and 
the  American  was  silent,  undoubtedly  suffering  from  his 
wound,  which  bled  freely.  Presently  he  made  another 
spring  at  Tovotsky,  who  ducked  down,  but  got  a  slit  across 
his  shoulder,  whereon  he  sent  up  a  howl  of  pain,  and 
ran  round  and  round  the  ring;  while  the  other  followed 
him  making  lunges  terrible  to  see,  but  doing  no  more  mis- 
chief. The  effort  took  the  breath  out  of  both  of  them,  and 
they  paused  at  last,  panting  like  dogs,  and  drinking  spirits 
which  their  friends  brought  them.  When  they  resumed 
again,  it  was  by  mutual  agreement,  rushing  at  each  other, 
and  gripping.  Each  man  then  had  got  hold  of  the  right 
hand  of  his  antagonist,  so  that  the  deadly  knives  were 
powerless,  while  the  pair  struggled,  trying  to  "back-heel" 


BELLOWING  LIKE  BULLS.  181 

each  other.  Round  and  round  they  went,  bumping  against 
their  fellows  in  the  circle,  straining  their  muscles  so  that 
they  cracked,  uttering  fierce  cries  in  the  agony  of  the 
struggle  for  life.  But  the  American  had  the  strength  of 
it,  and  he  forced  Tovotsky's  hand  back  upon  him,  stabbing 
him  with  his  own  knife  again  and  again,  so  that  the  man's 
breast  was  covered  with  wounds,  and  he  seemed  like  soon 
to  faint  from  weakness.  It  might  have  been  that  he  would 
have  died  where  he  stood,  but  by  some  terrible  effort  he 
forced  himself  free ;  and  with  a  howl  of  a  wild  beast,  he 
thrust  his  own  knife  to  the  hilt  in  the  American's  side. 
It  broke  at  the  handle;  but  the  long  blade  was  left  im- 
bedded in  the  flesh,  and  the  force  of  the  blow  was  so  over- 
whelming that  Skinner  drew  himself  straight  up  with 
death  written  in  his  protruding  eyes  and  distorted  features. 
Yet  he  had  strength  to  seek  vengeance,  for  his  antagonist 
had  now  no  weapon  left  to  him,  which  the  American  saw, 
and  ran  after  him  with  a  scream  of  rage ;  when  Tovotsky 
fled,  breaking  the  ring,  and  scudding  round  the  great 
room  like  a  maniac.  There  Skinner  followed  him,  crying 
with  pain  at  every  movement,  almost  foaming  at  the 
mouth  as  his  wiry  enemy  eluded  him.  At  last  the  Russian 
approached  the  door,  his  opponent  being  within  a  fe\v  feet 
of  him,  but  the  smaller  man  fell  headlong  through  the  cur- 
tain, and  at  that  the  death-agony  came  upon  Skinner.  He 
stopped  as  though  held  in  a  vise,  hurled  his  knife  at  the 
Russian,  and  fell  down  dead.  The  men  gave  a  great 
shout,  and  rushed  from  the  place  to  find  the  other;  but 
they  brought  him  in  dead  as  he  had  fallen,  and  far  from 
being  moved  at  the  ghastly  sight,  they  holloaed  and  bel- 
lowed like  bulls,  coming  to  reason  only  at  the  skipper's  cry. 
"Take  'em  up  to  the  cavern,  some  of  you  there,  and  lay 


182          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

'em  side  by  side  to  cool,"  he  said  brutally,  and  his  orders 
were  instantly  obeyed.  Others  of  the  crew  brought 
buckets  and  swabs  unbidden,  and  cleansed  the  place  after 
which  Black  addressed  the  men  again  as  though  the  terri- 
ble scene  was  a  thing  of  common  happening. 

"Before  I  give  you  good-night,"  he  said,  "I  want  to  tell 
you  that  we've  got  a  stranger  with  us;  but  he's  here  to 
stay,  and  he's  in  my  charge." 

"Has  he  jined?"  asked  the  blear-eyed  Yankee,  who 
had  eyed  me  with  much  curiosity ;  but  the  captain  an- 
swered— 

"That's  my  affair,  and  you  keep  your  tongue  still  if 
you  don't  want  me  to  cut  it  out ;  he'll  join  us  by-and-by." 

"That's  agen  rules,"  said  the  man  Roaring  John,  loafing 
up  with  others,  who  seemed  to  resent  the  departure. 

"Agen  what?"  asked  Black  in  a  tone  of  thunder,  turn- 
ing on  the  fellow  a  ferocious  gaze;  "agen  what,  did  you 
remark?" 

"Agen  rules,"  replied  Roaring  John;  "his  man  broke 
my  jaw,  and  I'll  pay  him,  oh,  you  guess;  it's  not  for  you  to 
go  agen  what's  written  no  more  than  us." 

Black's  anger  was  evident,  but  he  held  it  under. 

"Maybe  you're  right,"  he  said  carelessly;  "we've  made 
it  that  no  stranger  stays  here  unless  he  joins,  except  them 
in  the  mines — but  I've  my  own  ideas  on  that,  and  when 
the  time  comes  I'll  abide  by  what's  done.  That  time  isn't 
yet,  and  if  any  man  would  like  to  dictate  to  me,  let  him 
step  out — maybe  it's  you,  John?" 

The  fellow  slunk  away  under  the  threat,  but  there 
were  mutterings  in  the  room  when  we  left;  and  I  doubt 
not  that  my  presence  was  freely  discussed.  This  did  not 
much  concern  me,  for  Black  was  master  beyond  all  ques- 
tion, and  he  protected  me. 


A  CHAMBER  IN  THE  ROCK.  183 

We  went  back  with  him  to  the  long  passage  where  I 
had  seen  the  doors  of  bed-chambers,  and  there  he  bade  me 
good-night.  The  doctor  showed  me  into  a  room  in  the 
passage,  furnished  both  as  a  sitting-room  and  a  bedroom,  a 
chamber  cut  in  the  solid  rock,  but  with  windows  towards 
the  sea;  and  when  he  had  seen  to  the  provisions  for  my 
comfort,  he,  too,  went  his  way.  But  first  he  said — 

"You  must  have  been  born  under  a  lucky  star;  you're 
the  first  man  to  whom  Black  ever  gave  an  hour's  grace." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    DEN    OF    DEATH. 

THE  bed  in  which  I  lay  was  wondrous  soft  and  downy; 
and  the  cold  gave  me  deep  sleep,  so  that  I  awoke  at  a  late 
hour  to  find  the  sun  streaming  through  my  rock  window, 
and  the  negro  telling  me,  as  he  was  wont  to  do  in  the  ship, 
that  my  bath  was  ready.  The  bath-room  lay  away  a  few 
paces  from  my  chamber;  but  the  water  that  flowed  from 
the  silver  taps  was  icily  cold ;  and  I  shivered  after  my 
plunge,  though  the  beauty  and  luxury  of  the  place  com- 
pelled my  admiration.  It  was  no  ordinary  bath-room, 
even  in  its  arrangement,  the  great  well  of  water  being 
large  enough  to  swim  in,  and  the  basin  of  pure  white  mar- 
ble ;  while  soft  and  brightly-coloured  rugs  were  laid  on 
the  couches  around,  and  the  arched  roof  was  Eastern  in 
design  and  decoration.  When  we  returned  to  my  sleep- 
ing-place, I  found  the  bed  curtained  off,  leaving  a  com- 
modious apartment,  with  books,  armchairs,  a  writing-table 
and  a  fire-place,  in  which  a  coal  fire  burned  brightly.  But 
the  greater  surprise  was  the  view  from  my  window,  a 
view  over  a  sunlit  fjord,  away  to  mountain  peaks,  snow- 
capped and  shining;  and  between  them  to  a  vista  of  an 
endless  snow-plain,  white,  dazzling,  and  not  altogether 
unmonotonous,  yet  relieved  by  the  nearer  patches  of  green 
and  almost  garden-land  which  seemed  to  stretch  towards 
the  sea. 

My  new  home  was,  as  I  had  thought,  upon  the  side  of 


1   RECEIVE  AN   OFFER.  185 

a  fjord  which  led  through  a  canyon  to  the  outer  basin. 
There  was  beach  at  the  upper  end  of  it,  and  grass-land 
where  several  canoes  and  kayaks  lay ;  and  I  saw  that  many 
of  the  men  who  had  watched  the  horrors  of  the  night  were 
working  lustily  now,  dragging  stores  and  barrels  from  a 
heavily-charged  screw  steamer  which  was  anchored  near 
the  beach.  The  rocks  which  bound  the  opposite  side  of 
the  bay  did  not  appear  to  be  cut  for  dwellings  as  on  our 
side;  but  I  saw  traces  of  several  passages  in  them;  and 
away  above  them  there  was  a  small  mountain  peak  by 
which  a  river  of  ice  ran  into  the  sea.  But  of  the  outer 
cave  I  could  observe  nothing;  or  of  the  shore  itself, 
though  away  at  a  greater  distance,  over  some  of  the  ra- 
vines, I  made  out  the  clear  blue  of  the  Atlantic,  and  a 
waste  of  peaceful  water. 

The  doctor  came  to  me  while  I  was  at  breakfast.  He 
was  very  cheerful,  and  began  to  talk  at  once. 

"The  captain  sends  you  his  compliments,"  he  said; 
"and  hopes  you  have  slept.  Entre  nous,  you  know,  he 
doesn't  care  a  brass  button  for  such  things,  as  we  saw  last 
night;  but  if  we  didn't  keep  discipline  here,  we  should 
have  our  throats  cut  in  a  week." 

I  gave  him  civil  words  in  return,  and  he  went  on  to 
speak  of  personal  matters. 

"The  men  are  inclined  to  resent  the  exception  that  has 
been  made  in  your  case.  I  am  afraid  it  will  lead  to  trouble 
by-and-by,  unless,  of  course,  you  choose  to  close  with  the 
offer  that  Black  makes  you." 

"You  speak  of  an  'exception,'  and  an  'offer,'  "  said  I; 
"but  for  the  life  of  me,  I  don't  quite  know  what  you 
mean.  How  has  an  exception  been  made  in  my  case,  and 
what  is  the  offer?" 


186          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"I  will  tell  you  in  a  minute;  Captain  Black  has  brought 
thirty  or  forty  Englishmen  of  your  position,  or  better,  to 
this  place  within  the  last  three  years;  not  one  of  them 
has  lived  twenty  hours  from  the  time  he  set  foot  in  the 
rock-house.  As  for  the  offer,  it  is  evident  to  you  that  we 
could  not  permit  any  man  to  share  our  privileges,  and  to 
be  one  of  us,  unless  he  shared  also  our  dangers  and  our 
risks.  In  other  words,  the  time  will  come  when  you  must 
sign  an  agreement  such  as  I  have  signed,  and  these  men 
have  signed — and  I  don't  believe  that  you  will  refuse.  It 
is  either  that,  which  means  full  liberty,  plenty  of  money,  a 
life  which  is  never  monotonous,  often  amusing,  and  some- 
times dangerous;  or  an  alternative  which  I  really  won't 
dilate  on." 

"You  lay  it  all  down  very  clearly,"  I  replied,  "but  you 
can  have  my  answer  now  if  you  like." 

He  raised  his  hand  laughingly. 

"Curse  all  emotion,"  he  said,  "it  affects  digestion. 
Black  won't  hurry  you — why,  for  the  life  of  me,  I  can't 
tell,  but  he  won't.  You  can't  do  better  than  take  things 
easy,  and  see  the  place.  I've  brought  you  a  'Panama,' 
for  the  sun  can  advertise  himself  at  eight  bells  still ;  and  if 
you  have  nothing  better  to  do,  put  it  on,  and  light  a  cigar 
as  we  stroll  round." 

The  idea  of  inspecting  the  place  pleased  me.  I  followed 
Doctor  Osbart — for  such  his  name  was — down  the  rock 
slope  we  had  trodden  on  the  previous  evening ;  and  thence 
to  the  beach,  hard  and  baked  with  the  sun.  The  men,  who 
had  ceased  the  labour  of  discharging  the  steamer,  were 
lying  about  on  the  grassy  knolls,  smoking  and  dozing,  and 
they  cast  no  friendly  glances  on  me  as  we  passed  along  the 
shore  round  the  edge  of  the  bay,  and,  moynted  a  sqft  grass 


NO  LIKE  TO  HER.  187 

slope  which  led  to  the  cliff-head  on  the  other  side.  It  was 
a  long  walk,  but  not  unpleasant,  in  the  crisp,  sweet,  odour- 
bearing  air ;  and  when  we  had  attained  the  summit,  a  glo- 
rious seascape  was  spread  before  us.  All  about  were  the 
white  peaks  and  the  basaltic  rocks,  towering  above  ravines 
where  ice  flowed,  or  falling  away  to  bright  green  pastures 
which  reindeer  trod.  The  coast-line  was  lofty  and  awe- 
inspiring,  often  showing  a  precipitous  face  to  the  sea,  which 
beat  upon  it  with  the  booming  of  heavy  breakers,  and 
spread  surf  all  foaming  upon  its  ridges  and  promontories. 
I  stood  entranced  with  the  vigour  born  of  that  life-giving 
breeze;  and  the  young  doctor  stood  with  me  watching.  At 
last  he  touched  me  upon  the  shoulder,  and  pointed  to  the 
first  cave,  where  the  nameless  ship  lay  snugly  moored  in 
the  creek,  with  many  seamen  at  work  upon  her. 

"Look,"  he  said,  "look  there,  where  is  the  instrument 
of  our  power.  Is  not  she  magnificent?  Do  you  wonder 
at  my  warmth — yet  why?  for  without  her  we  here  are 
helpless  children,  victims  of  poverty,  of  law,  of  society. 
With  her  we  defy  the  world.  In  all  Europe  there  is  no 
like  to  her;  no  ship  which  should  live  with  her.  Ask  her 
for  speed,  and  she  will  give  you  thirty  knots;  tell  her  that 
you  have  no  coal,  and  she  will  carry  you  day  after  day  and 
demand  none.  Aboard  her,  we  are  superior  to  fleets  and 
nations ;  we  ravage  where  we  will ;  we  laugh  at  the  fastest 
cruisers  and  the  biggest  war-ships.  Are  you  surprised  that 
we  love  her?" 

He  spoke  with  extraordinary  enthusiasm — the  enthu- 
siasm of  a  fanatic  or  a  lover.  The  great  ship  reflected  the 
sun's  glow  from  her  many  bright  parts,  and  was  indeed  a 
beauteous  object,  lying  there  golden,  yet  swan-like,  the 
guns  uncovered  as  the  men  worked  at  them,  and  a  newer 
lustre  added  to  her  splendour. 


188          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SE4. 

"She  is  a  wonderful  ship,"  said  I,  "and  built  of  metal 
I  never  met  with." 

"Her  hull  is  constructed  of  phosphor-bronze,"  he  an- 
swered, "and  she  is  driven  by  gas.  The  metal  is  the  finest 
in  the  world  for  all  ship-building  purposes,  but  its  price 
is  ruinous.  None  but  a  man  worth  millions  could  build 
the  like  to  her." 

"Then  Captain  Black  is  such  a  man?"  I  said. 

"Exactly,  or  he  wouldn't  be  the  master  of  her — and 
of  Europe.  Doesn't  it  occur  to  you  that  you  were  a  fool 
ever  to  set  out  on  the  enterprise  of  coping  with  him?" 

I  did  not  answer  the  taunt,  but  looked  seaward,  away 
across  the  west,  where  Roderick  and  Mary  were.  The 
boundless  spread  of  water  reminded  me  how  small  was 
the  hope  that  I  should  ever  see  them  again ;  ever  hear  a 
voice  I  had  known  in  the  old  time,  or  clasp  a  hand  in  fel- 
lowship that  had  oft  been  clasped.  They  thought  me 
dead,  no  doubt;  and  to  take  the  grief  from  them  was  for- 
bidden, then  arid  until  the  end  of  it,  I  felt  sure. 

But  the  doctor  was  still  occupied  with  the  great  ship, 
looking  down  upon  her  as  she  lay,  and  he  called  my  atten- 
tion to  a  fact  I  had  not  been  cognisant  of. 

"We  are  coaling  here,  do  you  see?"  he  said.  "It  was 
one  of  Black's  inspirations  to  choose  Greenland  for  his 
hole;  it  is  one  of  the  few  comparatively  uninhabited 
countries  in  the  world  where  coal  is  to  be  had,  somewhat 
of  a  poorer  quality  than  the  anthracite  we  are  accustomed 
to  use,  but  very  welcome  when  we  are  close  pressed.  He 
is  filling  his  bunkers  now,  in  case  we  should  decide  to 
break  up  this  party  before  the  end  of  the  winter.  That  will 
depend  on  our  friends  over  in  Europe.  We  have  given 
them  a  nightmare,  but  it  won't  last,  and  they'll  go  to  bed 
again  to  get  another." 


"THEY  DON'T  LIVE"  189 

"Who  are  your  miners?"  I  asked  suddenly,  interrupting 
him,  for  I  saw  that  the  rock  above  the  nameless  ship  was 
pierced  with  tunnels  leading  down  to  the  shafts,  and  that 
forty  or  fifty  coal-black  fellows  were  shooting  the  stuff  into 
the  bunkers. 

" These  are  our  guests,"  he  said  lightly,  "honest  British 
seamen  whose  voyages  have  been  interrupted.  We  give 
them  the  alternative  of  work  in  the  mine,  or  their  liberty 
on  the  snow  yonder." 

"But  how  can  they  live  in  such  a  place?" 

He  laughed  as  though  the  whole  thing  were  a  joke. 

"They  don't  live,"  said  he.     "They  die  like  vermin." 

"I'm  evidently  afloat  with  a  lot  of  fine-spirited  fellows," 
said  I;  "or,  to  put  it  in  plain  English,  with  a  beautiful 
company  of  blackguards." 

"Why  not  say  with  a  lot  of  devils — that  would  be 
more  accurate !  But  you  can't  forget  that  you  came  to  us 
unasked,  and  now  you  must  stop." 

His  leer  at  this  sally  was  terribly  expressive,  and  I 
showed  all  the  contempt  I  felt  for  him,  turning  away  to 
the  sea  fondly,  as  to  the  hope  of  my  liberty,  since  thence 
only  should  it  come.  He  read  my  thoughts,  perhaps,  tak- 
ing me  by  the  arm  with  unsought  pretence  of  kindness, 
and  he  said — 

"Don't  let's  dissect  each  other's  morals;  we  have  the 
place  to  see,  and  you  must  be  getting  hungry.  I  will 
show  you  only  one  thing  before  we  go — it  is  our  ceme- 
tery." 

It  was  not  a  fascinating  prospect,  yet  I  followed  him 
across  the  high  plateau  to  the  creek  wherein  the  rock-house 
was,  but  to  the  side  which  was  opposite  to  my  bed-room 
window.  There  he  descended  the  face  of  the  cliff  by 


190          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

rough  steps,  and  entered  one  of  the  passages  which  I  had 
observed  from  my  chamber.  The  passage  was  long  and 
low,  lighted  by  ships'  lanterns  at  intervals,  and  I  discov- 
ered that  it  led  to  a  great  cavern  which  opened  to  the  face 
of  one  of  the  glaciers  going  down  to  the  sea  on  the  fur- 
ther side.  Nor  have  I  entered  a  sepulchre  which  ever  gave 
me  such  an  infinite  horror  of  death,  or  such  a  realisation 
of  its  terrors. 

The  end  of  the  cavern  was  nothing  but  a  wall  of  ice, 
clear  as  glass,  admitting  a  soft  light  which  illuminated  the 
whole  place  with  dim  rays,  making  it  a  place  of  mystery 
and  of  awe.  Yet  I  had  not  noticed  its  more  dreadful  as- 
pect at  the  first  coming ;  and,  when  I  did  so,  I  gave  a  cry 
of  horror  and  turned  away  my  face,  fearing  to  see  again 
that  most  overwhelming  spectacle.  For  blocks  had  been 
cut  from  the  clear  ice,  and  the  dead  seamen  had  been  laid 
in  the  frozen  mass  just  as  they  had  died,  without  coffin  or 
other  covering  than  their  clothes.  There  they  lay,  their 
faces  upturned,  many  of  them  displaying  all  the  placid 
peacefulness  of  death;  but  some  grinned  with  horrible 
grimaces,  and  the  eyes  of  some  started  from  their  heads, 
and  there  were  teeth  that  seemed  to  be  biting  into  the  ice, 
and  hands  clenched  as  though  the  fierce  activity  of  life 
pursued  them  beyond  the  veil.  Yet  the  frightful  mauso- 
leum, the  den  of  death,  was  pure  in  its  atmosphere  as  a 
garden  of  snow,  cool  as  grass  after  rain,  silent  as  a  tomb 
of  the  sea.  Not  a  sound  even  of  dripping  water,  not  a 
motion  of  life  without,  not  a  sigh  or  dull  echo  disturbed 
its  repose.  Only  the  dead  with  hands  uplifted,  the  dead 
m  frozen  rest,  the  dead  with  the  smile  of  death,  or  the 
hate  of  death,  or  the  terror  of  death  written  upon  their 
faces,  seemed  to  watch  and  to  wait  in  the  chamber  of  the 
sepulchre. 


OSBART  RAVES.  191 

I  have  said  that  the  sight  terrified  me,  yet  the  whole  of 
my  fear  I  could  not  write,  though  the  pen  of  Death  him- 
self were  in  my  hands.  So  profoundly  did  the  agony  of  it 
appeal  to  me  that  for  many  minutes  together  I  dare  not 
raise  my  eyes,  could  scarce  restrain  myself  from  flying, 
leaving  the  dreadful  picture  to  those  that  should  care  to 
gaze  upon  it.  Yet  its  spell  was  too  terrible,  the  morbid 
magnetism  of  it  too  potent ;  and  I  looked  again  and  again, 
and  turned  away,  and  looked  yet  once  more ;  and  went  to 
the  ice  to  gaze  more  closely  at  the  dead  faces,  and  was  so 
carried  away  with  the  trance  of  it  that  I  seemed  to  forget 
the  dead  men,  and  thought  that  they  lived.  When  I 
recalled  myself,  I  observed  Doctor  Osbart  watching  me 
intently. 

"A  strange  place,  isn't  it?"  he  said.  "Observe  it 
closely,  for  some  day  you  will  be  here  with  the  others." 

I  shuddered  at  his  thought,  and  muttered,  "God  for- 
bid!" 

"Why?"  he  asked,  hearing  it.  "It's  not  a  very  fearful 
thing  to  contemplate.  I  would  sooner  lie  in  ice  than  in 
earth — and  that  ice  is  not  part  of  the  glacier;  it  never 
moves.  It  is  bound  by  the  rock  there  which  cuts  it  off 
from  the  main  mass." 

"It's  a  horrible  sight!"  I  exclaimed,  shivering. 

"Not  at  all,"  he  said.  "These  men  have  been  our 
friends.  I  like  to  see  them,  and  in  a  way  one  can  talk  to 
them.  Who  can  be  sure  that  they  do  not  hear?" 

It  was  almost  the  thought  of  a  religious  man,  and  it 
amazed  me.  I  was  even  about  to  seek  explanations,  but  a 
sudden  excitement  came  upon  him,  and  he  raved  incoher- 
ent words,  crying — 

"Yes,  they  hear,  every  one  of  them.  Dick,  you  black- 
guard, do  you  hear  me?  Old  Jack,  wake  up,  you  old 


I92          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

gun!  Thunder,  you've  killed  many  a  one  in  your  day. 
Move  your  pins,  old  Thunder!  There's  work  to  do — 
work  to  do — work  to  do!" 

His  voice  rang  out  in  the  cavern,  echoing  from  vault  to 
vault.  It  was  an  awful  contrast  to  hear  his  raving,  and 
yet  to  see  the  rigid  dead  before  him.  My  surmise  that 
Doctor  Osbart  was  a  madman  was  undoubtedly  too  true ; 
and,  horrified  at  the  desecration,  I  dragged  him  from  the 
cavern  into  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  there  I  found  my- 
self trembling  like  a  leaf,  and  as  weak  as  a  child.  The 
cold  crisp  breeze  brought  the  doctor  to  his  senses,  but  he 
was  absent  and  wandering,  and  he  left  me  at  the  door  of 
rtty  room. 


193 
CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   MURDERS  IN   THE  COVE. 

FOR  some  days  I  saw  no  more  of  Doctor  Osbart  or  of 
Captain  Black.  My  existence  in  the  rock-house  seemed  to 
be  forgotten  by  them,  and  where  they  were  I  knew  not; 
but  the  negro  waited  on  me  every  day,  and  I  was  provided 
with  generous  food  and  many  books.  I  spent  the  hours 
wandering  over  the  cliffs,  or  the  grass  plains;  but  I  dis- 
covered that  the  place  was  quite  surrounded  by  ice-capped 
mountains  and  by  snow-fields,  and  that  any  hope  of  escape 
by  land  was  more  than  futile.  Once  or  twice  during  these 
days  I  saw  the  man  "Four-Eyes,"  and  from  him  gained  a 
few  answers  to  my  questions.  He  told  me  that  Captain 
Black  kept  up  communication  with  Europe  by  two  small 
screw  steamers  disguised  as  whalers;  that  one  of  them, 
the  one  I  saw,  was  shortly  to  be  despatched  to  England 
for  information,  and  that  the  other  was  then  on  the  Amer- 
ican coast  gleaning  all  possible  news  of  the  pursuit,  also 
charging  herself  with  stores  for  the  colony. 

"Bedad,  an'  we're  nading  'em,"  he  said  in  his  best 
brogue,  "for,  wanting  the  victuals,  it's  poor  sort  av  order 
we'd  be  keepin',  by  the  Saints.  Ye  see,  young  'un,  it's 
yerself  as  is  at  once  the-  bottom  an'  the  top  av  it.  'Wot's 
he  here  for?'  says  half  av  'em,  while  the  other  half,  which 
is  the  majority,  they  says,  'When's  the  old  'un  a-sending 
him  to  Europe  to  cut  our  throats?'  they  •says;  and  there's 
the  divil  among  'em — more  divil  than  I  ever  seed." 

"It  must  be  dull  work  wintering  here,"  I  said  at  haz- 
ard ;  and  ht  took  up  the  words  mighty  eagerly. 


194          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Ay,  an'  ye've  put  yer  finger  on  it;  sure,  it's  just  then 
that  there's  work  to  do  combing  ov  'em  down,  young  'un. 
If  I  was  the  skipper,  I  wudn't  sit  here  with  my  feet  in  me 
pockets  as  it  was,  but  I'd  up  an'  run  for  it.  Why,  look 
you,  we're  short  av  victuals  already;  and  we  turn  fifty  av 
the  hands  in  the  mine  ashore  to-morrow!" 

"Turn  them  ashore — how  is  that?" 

"Why,  giv'  'em  their  liberty,  I'm  thinking:  poor  divils, 
they'll  die  in  the  snow,  every  one  av  them." 

I  made  some  poor  excuse  for  cutting  short  the  conver- 
sation, and  left  him,  excited  beyond  anything  by  the 
thought  which  his  words  gave  me.  If  fifty  men  were  to 
be  turned  free,  then  surely  I  could  count  on  fifty  allies; 
and  fifty-one  strong  hands  could  at  least  make  some  show 
even  against  the  ruffians  of  the  rock-house.  Give  them 
arms,  and  a  chance  of  surprise,  and  who  knows?  I  said. 
But  it  was  evident  beyond  doubt  that  the  initiative  must 
be  with  me,  and  that,  if  arms  and  a  leader  were  to  be 
found,  I  must  find  them. 

It  might  have  been  a  mad  hope,  but  yet  it  was  a  hope; 
and  I  argued :  Is  it  better  to  clutch  at  the  veriest  shadow 
of  a  chance,  or  to  sit  down  and  end  my  life  amongst 
scoundrels  and  assassins?  Unless  the  man  "Four-Eyes" 
deliberately  deceived  me,  Black  would  connive  at  the 
murder  of  fifty  British  seamen  before  another  twenty-four 
hours  had  sped.  These  men  would  have  all  the  anger  of 
desperation  to  drive  them  to  the  attack;  and  I  felt  sure 
that  if  I  could  get  some  arms  into  their  hands,  and  help 
them  to  wise  strategy,  the  attempt  would  at  the  least  be 
justifiable.  It  remained  only  to  ascertain  the  probability 
of  getting  weapons,  and  of  joining  the  crew  without  mo- 
lestation; and  to  this  task  I  set  myself  with  an  energy 


A  TOUR  OF  INSPECTION.  195 

and  expectation  which  caused  me  to  forget  for  the  time  my 
rascally  environment,  and  the  peril  of  my  existence  in  the 
ice-haven. 

During  the  remaining  hours  of  the  day  I  engaged  myself 
in  searching  the  houses  on  the  beach ;  but,  although  I 
looked  into  many  of  them,  I  found  no  sign  of  armoury,  or, 
indeed,  of  anything  but  plain  accommodation  for  living. 
Here  and  there  in  some  rude  dormitories  I  encountered 
lazy  loafers,  who  cursed  at  the  sight  of  me ;  and  I  did  not 
approach  the  great  common-room,  for  I  knew  the  danger 
of  that  venture.  But  I  made  such  a  tour  of  the  block  of 
buildings  as  convinced  me  of  the  futility  of  any  attempt  to 
get  arms  from  them,  for  such  as  were  storehouses  had  iron 
doors  and  heavy  locks  upon  them,  and  elsewhere  there  was 
scarce  so  much  as  a  pistol.  The  discouragement  of  the 
vain  search  was  profound,  and  in  great  gloom  and  aban- 
doned hope  I  mounted  the  steep  passage  to  my  own  apart- 
ment, and  sat  down  to  ask  myself,  if  I  should  not  at  once 
surrender  the  undertaking,  and  preserve  my  own  skin. 
That,  no  doubt,  was  the  counsel  of  mere  prudence;  yet 
the  knowledge  that  fifty  men  would  stand  by  me  to  the 
assault  on  the  citadel  of  crime  and  cruelty  haunted  me  and 
drove  me  from  the  craven  prompting.  I  remembered  in  a 
welcome  inspiration  that  Black  had  a  stand  of  Winchester 
rifles  in  his  study;  I  had  seen  them  when  I  dined  with 
him ;  and,  although  there  were  not  more  than  half-a-dozen 
of  them,  I  had  hopes  that  they  would  suffice,  if  I  could  get 
them,  with  knives  and  any  revolvers  I  might  lay  hands 
upon,  to  hold  a  ring  of  men  against  the  company,  or  at 
least  to  warrant  a  covert  attack  on  the  buildings  below. 
This  thought  I  hugged  to  me  all  day,  going  often  to  the 
iron  platform  above  the  creek  to  know  if  there  were  any 


196  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

sign  of  the  release  of  the  men,  or  of  preparation  for  getting 
rid  of  them ;  but  I  could  see  none,  and  I  waited  expect- 
antly, for  it  were  idle  to  move  a  hand  until  those  who 
should  be  my  allies  had  their  so-called  liberty. 

Towards  evening,  when  I  was  weary  with  the  watch- 
ing, I  returned  to  my  room  and  found  that  the  negro  had 
spread  the  tea-table  as  usual,  and  I  drank  a  refreshing 
draught,  and  began  to  question  him,  if  he  knew  anything 
of  that  which  was  going  on  below.  He  shook  his  head 
stupidly;  but  presently,  when  I  had  repeated  the  question, 
he  said,  laughing  and  showing  his  huge  teeth — 

"Begar,  you  wait — plenty  fire  jess  now — plenty  knock 
and  squeal;  oh  yes,  sar." 

"Are  they  going  to  murder  the  men?"  I  asked  aghast. 

"No  murder;  oh  no,  sar,  no  murder,  but  plenty  fight — 
ah,  there  he  goes,  sar!" 

There  was  the  sound  of  a  gun-shot  below  in  the  creek; 
and  I  went  to  my  window,  and  getting  upon  a  chair,  I  saw 
the  whole  of  a  cruel  scene.  Some  twenty  of  these  seamen, 
black  as  they  had  come  from  the  coal-shaft,  were  going 
ashore  from  a  long-boat;  while  an  electric  launch  was 
bringing  twenty  more  from  the  outer  creek  where  the 
nameless  ship  lay.  But  the  men  who  had  first  landed  were 
surrounded  by  the  others  of  Black's  company,  and  were 
being  driven  towards  the  hills  at  the  back,  and  so  to  the 
great  desolate  plain  of  snow  where  no  human  thing  could 
long  retain  life.  From  my  open  window,  I  could  hear  the 
words  of  anger,  the  loud  oaths,  the  shouts,  could  see  the 
blows  which  were  received,  and  the  blows  which  were 
given.  Anon  the  fight  became  very  general.  The  pirates 
hit  lustily  with  the  butt-ends  of  their  pistols;  the  honest 
fellows  used  their  fists,  and  many  a  man  they  laid  his 


.N  COLD  BLOOD.  197 

length  upon  the  rock.  Yet  there  was  no  question  of  the 
sway  of  victory,  for  the  prisoners  were  unarmed,  and  the 
others  outnumbered  them  hopelessly.  Inch  by  inch  they 
gave  way,  were  driven  toward  the  ravines  and  the  count- 
less miles  of  snow-plain ;  and  as  the  battle,  if  such  you 
could  call  it,  raged,  the  armed  lost  control  of  themselves 
and  began  to  shoot  with  murderous  purpose.  Death  at 
last  was  added  to  the  horrors,  and,  as  body  after  body 
rolled  down  the  rocky  slope  and  fell  splashing  into  the 
water,  those  unwounded  took  panic  at  the  sight,  and  fled 
with  all  speed  away  up  the  side  of  the  glacier  mount ;  and 
so,  as  I  judged  it  must  be,  to  their  death  in  that  frozen 
refuge  beyond. 

When  all  was  quiet  I  shut  my  window,  and  sat  in  my 
chair  to  think.  The  negro  had  left  me,  and  the  whole 
place  was  very  still.  Neither  Black  nor  the  Doctor  had 
showed  during  the  scene  of  the  massacre  (for  I  could  call 
it  nothing  else)  ;  and  in  the  rock-house  itself  there  was 
not  so  much  as  a  footfall.  I  began  to  hope  that  the  master 
of  the  place  might  chance  to  be  away;  and  when  darkness 
had  fallen  I  went  into  the  long  passage  then  deserted,  and 
found  the  door  of  his  sitting-room  ajar,  but  the  place  was 
dim  within,  and  I  feared  to  make  an  attempt  to  get  the 
arms  until  I  knew  that  all  slept.  But  one  misfortune 
could  lie  between  myself  and  the  aid  which  I  should  bear 
to  these  men — it  was  the  chance  that  Black  locked  the  door 
of  his  study  when  he  slept.  If  he  did  not,  I  could  get  the 
rifles,  and  convey  them  across  the  bay  to  the  other  fellows; 
if  he  did,  all  hopes  were  gone. 

At  seven  o'clock  I  dined  as  usual,  no  one  coming  to  me; 
and  at  eight  the  negro  had  cleared  away  the  repast,  and 
had  left  me  for  the  night.  I  closed  my  own  door,  and  for 


1 98  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

three  hours  or  more  I  paced  my  chamber,  the  fever  of 
anticipation  and  of  design  burning  me  as  with  fire.  It 
must  have  been  eleven  o'clock  when  at  last  I  put  out  my 
light,  and  listened  in  the  passage;  yet  heard  nothing,  not 
even  the  echo  of  a  distant  sound. 

Of  the  doors  about,  the  majority  were  closed ;  but  the 
Doctor's  was  open,  and  his  room  was  in  darkness,  so  that 
I  began  to  fear  that  he  was  closeted  with  Black,  and  I 
went  very  stealthily,  having  left  my  boots  behind  me,  to  the 
man's  study,  and  found  that  door  ajar  as  it  had  been  when 
I  had  come  to  it  some  hours  before.  This  discovery  set  me 
almost  drunk  with  hope.  There  was  no  doubt  that  both 
the  men  were  away  from  their  rooms,  so  that  my  time 
could  not  have  been  better  chosen;  and,  more  fearless  in 
their  absence,  I  pushed  the  door  wide  open  and  began  to 
feel  my  way  in  the  blinding  dark. 

My  first  proceeding  was  to  run  upon  some  slight  article 
of  furniture,  and  to  overturn  it.  The  crash  that  followed 
echoed  through  the  vaulted  passages,  and  I  stood  quite 
still,  thinking  that  all  chance  of  success  had  gone  with  the 
mishap.  But  no  sound  followed,  and  after  many  minutes 
I  went  on  again  with  great  care,  feeling  my  way  as  a  cat, 
quite  sure  that  at  last  I  should  succeed.  Twice  I  went 
round  the  room,  and  could  not  put  my  hand  upon  the 
rifles;  but  at  the  third  attempt  I  found  them,  and  gave  a 
sigh  of  relief.  Then  an  overwhelming  terror  struck  me 
chill  and  powerless.  My  sigh  was  echoed  from  the  corner 
by  the  window ;  and  a  low  chuckle  of  laughter  followed  it. 
I  stood  as  a  man  petrified,  my  hand  upon  a  gun,  but  my 
nerves  strained  to  a  tension  that  was  horrible  to  bear. 
Who  was  there  with  me?  By  whom  was  I  watched? 

Alas!   I  knew  in  another  moment,  when  the  electric 


REVOLVER  AND  PEN.  igg 

light  flooded  the  chamber,  and  I  saw  Black  sitting  at  his 
writing-table,  observing  me,  a  jeer  upon  his  lips,  and  all 
the  terrible  malice  of  his  nature  written  in  his  keen  and 
mocking  eyes.  I  stood  transfixed  by  that  searching  gaze, 
held  spellbound  by  the  fascination  of  the  obvious  danger, 
my  hand  still  upon  one  of  the  rifles,  yet  trembling  with  the 
agitation  of  discovery.  Words  rose  to  my  lips — excuses, 
pleadings;  but  they  died  away  in  my  throat,  and  I  could 
not  utter  them.  Plans  for  the  undoing  of  that  which  had 
been  done,  ways  of  escape,  efforts  to  gain  time,  suggested 
themselves  to  me,  but  remained  suggestions.  I  could  do 
nothing  but  stand  and  sway  my  body  as  a  victim  before  a 
python — the  prey  before  a  snake  that  is  about  to  strike. 

We  must  have  watched  each  other  thus  for  a  minute  or 
more.  I  saw  during  those  moments  when  I  was  bereft  of 
all  power  that  the  man  had  a  revolver  cocked  at  his  left 
hand,  but  a  pen  in  his  right;  while  manuscript  lay  before 
him,  so  that  he  must  have  been  in  the  room  for  some  time, 
and  had  extinguished  his  light  only  at  my  coming.  And 
he  had  heard  me  quit  my  own  chamber,  I  did  not  doubt ; 
yet  this  surprised  me,  for  I  had  no  shoes  upon  my  feet, 
and  had  walked  with  the  stealth  of  a  cat.  Indeed,  he  ap- 
peared to  read  the  fleeting  speculations  of  my  thought,  and 
at  last  to  take  pity  on  my  position,  for  he  leant  over  the 
table,  and  drew  near  to  it  a  lounge  on  which  the  skin  of 
a  polar  bear  was  spread. 

"Sit  here,"  he  said,  and  at  the  bluff  word  my  nerve 
came  back  to  me.  I  sat  before  him,  facing  him  with  less 
fear.  Yet  it  was  humiliating  to  be  treated  almost  as  a 
child,  and  I  knew  from  the  inflexion  of  his  voice  that  he 
spoke  to  me  then  as  one  would  speak  to  a  school-lad  who 
had  played  truant.  And  in  this  tone  he  continued — 


200          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"You're  a  smart  boy,  and  have  ideas;  but,  like  all  little 
boys,  your  ideas  don't  go  far  enough.  I  was  just  the  same 
when  I  was  your  age,  always  trying  to  climb  perpendicular 
places,  and  always  falling  down  again.  When  you're 
older,  you  look  to  see  what  your  hold's  like  before  you  be- 
gin. Meanwhile,  you're  like  a  little  dog  barking  at  a 
bull,  and  you're  precious  lucky  not  to  be  over  the  hedge 
by  this  time — maybe  the  bull  doesn't  mind  you,  maybe 
he's  waiting  a  day — but  take  his  advice  and  go  to  kennel 
awhile." 

He  said  this  half-laughing,  and  in  no  sense  fiercely;  but 
his-  words  angered  me  beyond  restraint,  and  I  could  have 
struck  him  as  he  sat.  He  saw  my  anger,  and  ceased  his 
provocation. 

"Silly  lad,"  he  said  again,  " silly  beyond  expression  to 
put  your  head  into  a  business  which  never  concerned  you, 
and  to  stake  your  life  on  a  struggle  which  must  have  only 
one  end.  Don't  you  think  so?" 

At  this  I  plucked  up  courage  and  answered  him — 

"I  came  here  to-night  to  stop  your  deviltry  in  murdering 
fifty  innocent  men;"  but  he  started  up  at  the  words  and 
raved  like  a  maniac. 

"And  who  made  you  judge,  you  puppy?"  he  cried. 
"Who  set  you  to  watch  me,  or  give  your  opinions  on  what 
I  do  or  what  I  don't  do?  Who  asked  you  whether  you 
liked  it  or  didn't  like  it,  you  sneaking  little  brat?  I  won- 
der I  let  you  live  to  spit  your  dirty  words  in  my  face!" 

His  anger  was  fierce,  terrible  as  a  tornado.  His  teeth 
gnashed,  his  hands  shook,  he  rolled  in  his  chair  like  a 
great  wounded  beast;  but  when  he  saw  that  I  was  un- 
moved, he  fell  quiet  again,  and  wiping  his  forehead,  where 
the  sweat  had  gathered  thickly,  he  said  in  a  low,  coaxing 
voice — 


"SIGN  'EM  NOW  I"  201 

"Don't  compel  me,  lad,  to  do  what  I  have  meant  not  to 
do.  You're  here  for  good  or  ill,  and  if  you  wish  to  keep 
your  life,  put  control  on  your  tongue.  These  men  are 
nothing  to  you ;  they're  lazy  hogs  that  the  world's  well  rid 
of — let  'em  die,  and  save  your  own  carcass.  You've  been 
here  days  now — the  first  man  that  ever  lived  among  us 
without  signing  our  papers.  But  you  can't  stay  that  way 
any  longer.  You  know  this  business.  You've  a  straight 
notion  that  my  hand's  agen  Europe,  and,  for  the  matter  of 
that,  agen  the  world  too;  those  that  share  with  me  shall 
swing  with  me,  and  if  I  burn  when  it's  done,  by  the  devil 
himself  they  shall  burn  too.  It  isn't  of  my  asking  that 
you're  amongst  us,  or  that  you  took  up  the  work  of  trie 
hound  Hall,  who  put  the  first  nail  in  his  coffin  that  night 
he  came  to  my  bed  at  Spezia.  I  saw  him  there,  though  he 
thought  me  sleeping;  and  that  night  I  wrote  death  against 
his  name,  as  I  wrote  it  against  yours  when  you  entered  my 
room  in  Paris.  There's  reasons  why  I've  broken  my  word 
in  your  case,  though  you'll  never  know  'em ;  but  there's  no 
reason  why  you  shouldn't  swear  to  go  through  it  with  me 
and  mine,  man  for  man,  life  with  life,  be  it  rope's-end  or 
bullet,  to  rot  amongst  the  fish,  or  to  share  every  mate 
among  us  what's  got  upon  the  sea.  That's  my  question, 
and  you'll  answer  it  now,  yes  or  no,  plain  word  and  no 
shuffle;  meaning  to  you  whether  you  go  on  as  you've  gone 
on  in  the  past,  or  freeze  amongst  the  others  lying  up  there 
in  the  cavern ;  whether  you  swim  in  money,  as  my  lot 
swim  in  it,  or  get  bullets  in  you  thick  as  hail  from  north- 
ward. That's  my  question,  I  say  again,  and  there's  my 
papers.  Sign  'em  now,  or  you  lie  a  corpse  before  an  hour 
on  the  clock." 

He  leant  over  his  writing-table  and  put  the  paper  into 


202          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

my  hands,  a  rough  sheet  of  parchment,  which  he  wished 
me  to  read.  But  n^'  eyes  were  dimmed  with  the  restless 
excitement  of  the  situation,  with  the  dread  terror  of  the 
alternative  put  to  me ;  and  I  saw  nothing  but  lines  of  writ- 
ing which  swam  before  me.  The  silence  of  the  room  was 
terrible  to  bear;  it  was  as  though  I  struggled  for  life  while 
already  in  the  tomb.  My  thoughts  went  hurriedly  to 
Europe,  to  my  home,  to  my  friends;  above  all  I  recalled 
the  night  when  Martin  Hall  went  to  his  death,  and  his 
shadow  seemed  by  me,  his  face  beseeching  me,  his  hand 
holding  mine  back  from  the  pen  that  it  would  have 
clutched.  During  this  time  the  man  Black  leant  towards 
me,  and  watched  me,  expectancy  in  his  face,  threatening 
in  his  pose.  Yet  he  did  not  speak,  and  my  eyes  left  the 
paper  and  I  gave  him  look  for  look,  and  from  his  face  my 
glance  passed  to  his  right  hand  which  held  the  pistol ;  and 
in  that  instant  I  took  heart  for  a  step  which  was  the  last 
mad  design  of  a  driven  man. 

"Give  me  the  pen!''  I  said  suddenly,  rising  and  bending 
over  the  table. 

He  put  the  pen  into  my  hands,  and  leant  back  with  a 
chuckle  of  satisfaction;  but  the  movement  cost  him  the 
game.  I  clutched  his  pistol  with  a  lightning  grasp,  and 
covered  him  with  it — 

"If  you  raise  a  finger  I'll  shoot  you  like  a  dog,"  I  cried. 

Then  the  man,  who  was  no  craven,  sat  motionless  in  his 
chair ;  and  I  saw  the  beads  of  terror  falling  from  his  fore- 
head, but  he  betrayed  no  emotion,  and  his  face  might  have 
been  cut  from  marble.  I  had  the  muzzle  of  the  pistol 
upon  him  and  I  continued  with  greater  confidence — 

"If  you  raise  your  voice  to  call  out,  or  if  anyone  comes 
to  this  room,  you  die  where  you  sit." 


BLACK  GIVES  HIS  WORD.  203 

He  heard  me  then  more  calmly,  and  replied  deliber- 
ately— 

"Boy,  you're  the  first  that's  bested  Black." 

"I'll  take  your  word  for  that,"  I  said;  "but  take  care — 
you  are  moving  your  hand."  He  held  it  still  at  once,  and 
continued — 

"I'm  caught  like  a  rat  in  a  hole.  What  do  ye  want? 
Name  it,  and  I'll  know  how  we  stand!" 

"I  want  my  life — my  life,  now  that  I  refuse  to  sign 
that  paper." 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "that's  a  fair  request,  though  I  can't 
say  it's  in  my  power  to  make  it  that  way." 

"It's  in  your  power  to  stand  with  me — you  can  give 
the  order  that  no  man's  to  lay  a  finger  on  me,  and  you 
will." 

He  thought  a  moment,  looking  straight  down  the  barrel 
of  the  Colt.  Then  he  said — 

"Yes,  I  can't  avoid  that — I'll  give  you  that." 

"And  my  liberty  on  the  first  occasion  offering." 

"No,"  he  replied  very  slowly  and  sternly;  "that's  more 
than  the  devil  himself  could  offer  you;  they'd  tear  me  to 
pieces." 

There  was  no  doubt  that  he  had  right  in  this;  and  I 
reflected  that  I  could  gain  nothing  whatever  by  holding 
out.  There  was  just  the  hope  that  he  would  abide  by  his 
word  in  the  matter  of  my  personal  safety,  but  more  I  could 
not  look  for.  The  man  could  only  die,  and,  if  he  gave  me 
freedom,  his  own  men  would  requite  him  as  he  said.  I 
thought  of  this,  and  put  the  pistol  down;  then  I  offered 
him  my  hand,  and  he  jumped  up  from  his  seat,  grasping  it 
with  a  great  clutch  altogether  painful  to  bear,  while  he 
dragged  me  to  the  light  and  looked  at  me  with  that  curious 


204          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

expression  I  had  noticed  when  first  I  had  met  him  in  the 
room. 

"You're  a  sound  plank  of  a  boy,"  he  said;  "shake  my 
hand,  young  'un,  shake  it  hearty;  go  on,  don't  you  think 
I  mind;  shake  it  right  so,  you  beauty  of  a  boy!" 

What  else  he  would  have  said  or  done,  what  new  token 
of  his  repulsive  favour  he  would  have  bestowed  on  me,  I 
know  not,  but  his  wild  antics  were  cut  short  by  the  sound 
of  firing,  rapid  and  oft  repeated,  which  came  to  us  from 
the  shore  of  the  cove  below.  At  the  first  report,  he  let  go 
my  hand  and  went  to  his  window,  from  which  he  drew  the 
curtain,  so  that  I  saw  the  whole  bay  lit  with  silver  light 
from  a  full-risen  moon,  and  the  distant  peaks  as  grim  bea- 
cons above  a  land  of  rest ;  a  land  which  once,  perchance, 
flowered  with  exotic  luxuriance,  but  which  now  wore  the 
snow-silk  mantle  that  had  fallen  upon  countless  centuries 
of  its  past.  Yet  the  whole  glory  and  enhancement  of  the 
perfect  peace  were  for  the  moment  ruined,  for  out  on  the 
snow  there  was  a  hungry  crowd  of  starving  souls,  crying, 
I  doubt  not,  for  bread ;  and  those  to  whom  they  cried  an- 
swered them  with  their  muskets,  dyeing  the  glittering  white 
with  many  a  red  stream,  bringing  many  a  hungered  wretch 
to  his  last  sleep  in  the  frozen  night  of  death.  And  out 
over  the  silence  of  the  hills  the  cries  for  mercy  rang  as  in 
bitterness  to  God,  the  dreadful  cries  of  the  weak,  down- 
trodden beneath  the  feet  of  those  who  knew  not  God,  the 
last  scream  of  perishing  souls,  the  sobs  of  strong  men  in 
their  agony.  In  vain  I  closed  my  ears,  shut  out  the  sight 
from  my  eyes.  The  picture  came  to  me  again  and  again, 
the  sound  of  the  voices  would  not  be  hushed,  and  in  turn  I 
cried  to  Black — 

"For  God's  sake,  help  those  men,  if  you  have  anything 
but  the  instincts  of  a  brute  in  you!" 


WITH  PLEASANT  OATHS.  205 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  defiantly.  "What  am  I  to 
do?"  he  asked. 

"Stop  the  devil's  work,  and  give  the  men  bread,  as  I've 
just  given  you  your  life." 

There  was  a  pause  before  he  answered  me,  and  I  could 
see  that  an  old  nature  and  a  new  impulse  fought  within 
him.  He  did  not  give  me  any  direct  answer  to  my  earn- 
est appeal,  but  he  snatched  a  rifle  from  a  case  and  said — 

"Take  that  pistol,  and  come  on;  you've  fooled  me  once, 
and  we'll  make  it  even  numbers.  But  it  ain't  as  easy  as 
cutting  cheese,  and  there's  blood  to  let." 

I  followed  him  down  the  passage  to  the  beach,  where  he 
blew  a  whistle  sharp  and  shrill,  and  the  note  had  a  strange 
ring  as  it  echoed  through  the  canyon. 

"That'll  wake  'em  on  the  ship!"  he  exclaimed.  "I'm 
not  afeard  of  these,  but  there's  fighting  to  be  done — now 
lie  behind  me,  and  don't  show  till  you're  wanted." 

He  advanced  towards  the  snow-plain  and  sang  out — 

"John,  you  there,  Dick — hands  to  quarters,  do  you  hear 
me?  Move  right  quick,  or  I'll  move  you,  by  thunder!" 

They  put  down  their  arms  from  their  shoulders  in 
blank  amazement,  and  listened  to  him  as  he  went  on — 

"There's  enough  down  for  one  night,  I  reckon,  and  I'm 
not  going  to  be  kept  awake  by  your  cursed  firing — what's 
to  be  done  can  be  done  in  the  morning;  why,  you  boat- 
load of  night  rats,  ain't  any  of  you  got  sleep  in  you?" 

They  came  round  him  slowly  and  sulkily,  and  he  drove 
them  to  the  big  houses  with  pleasant  oaths  and  fine  round 
phrases.  I  lurked  near  him,  but  an  American  saw  me 
and  cried — 

"Say,  Cap'en,  hev  ye  took  to  nursin'  that  boy  ez  ye 
seems  so  fond  of?" 


206          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Shut  your  jaw,  or  I'll  shut  it  for  you!"  replied  Black. 
"Is  the  boy  your  affair?" 

"He's  the  affair  of  all  of  us,  I  calcerlate,  an'  some  of  us 
wishes  to  know  particler  if  he's  signed  or  no." 

Black  was  smothered  in  anger,  but  he  showed  it  only 
with  that  terrible  growling  of  the  voice,  and  his  horrid 
calmness. 

"Oh,  you  want  to  know,  do  you?  Which  of  you,  might 
I  ask,  is  particler  anxious  about  my  business?" 

There  were  thirty  or  forty  of  them  round,  and  they 
pressed  the  closer  at  the  question,  as  he  continued — 

"Let  them  as  makes  complaint  step  right  here." 

Only  four  joined  the  leader;  but  the  Captain  suddenly 
snatched  my  revolver  from  me,  and  fired  four  shots;  and 
for  each  shot  a  man  dropped  dead  on  the  beach ;  but  the 
American  stood  untouched.  The  appalling  brutality  of  the 
action  seemed  to  awe  the  rest  of  the  crew.  They  stood 
motionless,  dumb  with  rage;  but  when  they  recovered 
themselves  they  rushed  upon  us  with  wild  ferocity;  and 
the  Yankee  fired  at  Black  point-blank.  I  thought,  truly, 
that  the  end  was  then;  but  I  heard  a  shout  from  the 
water,  and,  looking  there,  I  saw  Doctor  Osbart  in  the 
launch ;  and  there  was  a  Maxim  gun  in  the  bows  of  her. 

"Clear  that  beach!"  roared  Black  in  awful  passion;  and 
instantly,  as  he  dropped  flat  and  I  imitated  him,  there  was 
a  hail  of  bullets,  and  the  main  part  of  the  crowd  fell 
shrieking;  but  some  threw  themselves  down,  while  many 
stiffened  and  rolled  in  death,  and  blood  spouted  from 
scores  of  wounds. 

The  victory  was  awful,  instantaneous.  As  the  men  fled 
towards  the  hills,  Black  called  after  them — 

"Bring  to,  you  limp-gutted  carrion,  or  I'll  wipe  you 


"GET  TORCHES'"  207 

out,  every  one  of  you!  Any  man  who'll  save  his  throat, 
let  him  come  here!" 

At  these  words  they  turned  back  to  a  man,  and  came 
cowering  to  the  water's  edge.  Thirty  of  their  fellows  lay 
dead  or  wounded  on  the  stones,  and  many  of  those  crawl- 
ing to  us  had  bullets  in  their  limbs.  Yet  Black  had  no 
thought  for  them. 

"Where's  your  leader?"  he  asked,  and  they  pointed  to 
the  American,  who  lay  with  the  blood  pouring  from  a 
wound  in  his  left  thigh. 

"He's  there,  is  he?"  screamed  the  infuriated  man. 
"The  darned  skunk's  down,  is  he?  Well,  I'll  cure  him 
like  a  ham.  Get  torches,  some  of  you,  and  ice  him  in." 

He  was  swaying  with  passion ;  yet,  even  regarding  it,  I 
could  not  understand  what  his  order  meant,  and  I  asked — 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  man?" 

"What  am  I  going  to  do  with  him?"  he  yelled,  scarce 
noticing  who  spoke  to  him;  "I'm  going  to  bury  him." 

It  was  wonderful  in  that  moment  to  see  how  the  men, 
who  had  before  defied  him,  then  became  as  slaves  at  his 
command.  A  silence  deep  and  profound  rested  upon  them ; 
even  those  with  the  Captain  watched  him  in  his  outrageous 
anger  and  were  dumb ;  but  all  helped  him  in  his  ghastly 
work,  and  brought  shovels  and  picks,  which  they  carried  to 
the  higher  plane  of  snow.  As  for  the  American,  who  sat 
upon  the  beach  groaning  with  the  pain  of  his  wound,  I  do 
not  know  how  any  man  could  have  wished  to  add  to  his 
hurt;  yet  he  asked  for  no  sympathy,  and  it  was  plain  that 
he  knew  what  they  meant  to  do  with  him.  At  one  time 
feverish  ravings  seized  him,  and  he  shook  his  fist  at  all 
around  him;  then  he  poured  his  anger  upon  Black,  who 
listened  to  him,  gratified  that  he  should  provoke  it.  And 


208          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

the  more  the  man  cursed,  the  greater  satisfaction  did  the 
other  show. 

"We've  got  to  die,  both  of  us,"  said  the  American  at 
last,  ceasing  his  wilder  oaths;  "you  en  me,  Black,  en  there 
isn't  much  ez  we  kin  look  for;  but,  if  there's  en  Almighty 
God,  I  reckon  ez  He'll  place  this  yere  off  my  score,  and  lay 
it  on  yours,  or  there  ain't  no  hell,  an'  there  ain't  no  justice, 
an'  what  seamen  dreams  of  is  lies — lies  as  your  word  is 
lies,  en  everything  about  your  cursed  ship.  Go  on,  lay  me 
right  here  as  I  lay  now;  but  I'll  rize  agen  you,  and  the 
day'll  come  when  you'd  give  every  dollar  ye're  worth  tc 
dig  me  up,  en  give  me  life  agen." 

The  softer  speech  availed  the  poor  fellow  as  little  as  the 
other.  I  felt  then  an  exceeding  pity  for  him,  and  I  touched 
Black  on  the  arm  and  was  about  to  plead  with  him ;  but  at 
the  sight  of  me  he  raised  his  fist,  and  I  moved  away,  see- 
ing by  the  light  of  his  eyes  that  he  was  as  much  a  madman 
in  that  moment  as  any  maniac  in  Bedlam.  For  he  stood 
foaming  and  muttering,  his  hands  clenched,  his  hat  upon 
the  snow,  great  drops  of  sweat  on  his  bronzed  forehead. 
The  haste  of  the  men  to  get  the  picks  was  not  half  haste 
enough  for  him;  and  when  they  began  to  dig  he  hurried 
them  more,  until  a  great  pile  of  snow  had  been  thrown  out. 

It  was  a  weird  scene — the  most  weird  I  have  ever 
known.  We  stood  in  a  snow-pit  amongst  the  hills,  and 
above  us  rose  in  grandeur  the  great  pyramids  of  basalt  and 
gneiss.  There  was  no  sign  of  living  green  thing,  even  of 
lichens  or  of  moss,  in  that  elevated  plain  above  the  sea; 
and  the  shrill  call  of  the  gulls  was  hushed  in  the  greater 
stillness  of  the  night.  The  moon,  high  in  the  unclouded  sky, 
gave  light  far  down  into  the  crevasses — clear,  silvered 
light  that  made  a  jewel  of  every  higher  point,  and 
sprinkled  the  crests  of  the  breakers  as  with  floss  of  fire. 


A   GREAT  WEIRD   WAILING.  209 

Nor  was  there  wind,  even  a  breath  of  the  night's  breeze, 
but  only  the  melancholy  silence  of  the  omnivorous  frost, 
the  boom  of  falling  avalanche  echoing  in  the  ravines  and 
the  ice-caverns,  the  groans  of  the  doomed  man — a  very 
Miserere  amongst  the  hills,  as  down  below  amongst  the 
dead  upon  the  shore. 

In  the  snow-plain,  which  was  the  centre  of  this  nor- 
thern desolation,  they  dug  the  grave  of  the  living  man.  I 
watched  from  afar — held  by  what  hideous  power  I  knew 
not — and  saw  them  roll  him  over  into  the  trench  they  had 
dug,  and  shovel  the  snow  quickly  upon  him.  He  watched 
them,  silent  in  his  terror;  but  when  his  head  only*was  un- 
covered he  gave  a  shriek  of  agony,  which  rose  like  the 
great  cry  of  a  man  going  before  his  God,  and  ceased  not 
to  echo  from  height  to  height  until  long  minutes  had 
passed.  Then  all  was  hushed,  for  the  cold  mantle  of  death 
fell  upon  him.  Slowly  those  who  had  done  their  work 
took  up  their  tools  and  returned  doggedly  to  the  beach; 
but  Captain  Black  was  unable  to  move  from  the  man  who 
had  put  that  last  great  curse  upon  him  not  five  minutes 
gone.  Bare-headed  and  alone,  he  stood  at  the  snow-grave, 
and  looked  down  upon  the  mound  now  sparkling  with  the 
crystals  of  the  frost  that  bound  it.  And  as  he  looked  there 
came  a  great  weird  wailing  from  a  distant  hill,  a  piercing 
cry,  as  of  another  soul  passing,  and  it  echoed  again  and 
again  from  peak  to  peak  and  ravine  to  ravine — a  wild 
"ochone,"  that  had  sadness  and  grief  and  misery  in  it; 
and  I  knew  that  it  was  the  cry  from  one  of  the  seamen 
who  had  been  turned  from  the  mines — from  one  who 
mourned,  perchance,  the  death  of  a  friend  or  of  a  brother. 
Yet,  at  the  cry,  Black  gave  a  great  start,  and  shivering  as 
a  man  struck  down  with  a  deadly  chill,  he  passed  from  the 
grave  to  the  beach.  This  was  the  agony  of  returning  reason. 


210 


CHAPTER  XX. 

I    QUIT    ICE-HAVEN. 

IT  was  on  the  next  afternoon,  near  to  the  setting  of  the 
sun,  there  having  been  unusual  activity  about  the  creek 
during  the  forenoon,  that  Doctor  Osbart  came  to  my 
room  with  great  news  for  me. 

"This  business  with  the  men  has  completely  upset  our 
plans,"  said  he.  "Black  hoped  to  winter  here;  and  to  let 
the  hubbub  in  Europe  quite  subside  before  he  put  to  sea 
again.  Now  he  can't  do  that,  for  there'll  be  trouble  just 
as  long  as  the  crew  eats  its  head  off  in  this  wilderness. 
There's  only  one  thing  that  will  keep  the  hands  quiet,  and 
that's  excitement.  After  all,  it's  the  same  motive  with 
most  of  us,  from  the  gutter-beggar  who  lives  on  the  hope 
of  the  next  penny  to  the  democrat  who  supports  existence 
on  a  probable  revolution.  If  we  once  get  them  away  to 
sea,  with  money  to  win,  and  towns  to  riot  in,  we  shall 
hear  no  more  of  this  folly,  and  Black  knows  it.  He  has 
determined  to  sail  to-night ;  and  he'll  take  some  of  the  men 
he  put  out  of  the  mines  to  do  the  work  of  those  who  went 
down  yesterday.  I'm  very  glad,  for  I  should  have  cut  my 
throat  if  I'd  been  here  the  winter  through,  and  I  dare 
say  you  won't  be  displeased  to  get  a  change  of  quarters; 
but,  before  we  talk  of  that,  we  must  have  the  conditions." 

"I  won't  sign  that  paper,  and  Black  has  been  told  so," 
cried  I  at  once;  "it's  no  good  coming  here  again  with 
that." 


O SB ART'S  NEWS.  211 

"You're  premature,"  he  replied,  with  a  smile,  "prema- 
ture, as  you  always  are.  Isn't  it  time  enough  to  discuss 
the  paper  when  I  bring  it  to  you?" 

"Then  what  have  you  to  ask?"  said  I,  prepared  to  hear 
of  something  which  I  must  refuse,  but  longing  with  a  great 
hope  for  the  freedom  of  the  sea. 

"Simply  this,"  he  answered,  "and,  for  the  life  of  me,  I 
don't  see  what  the  guv'nor  is  driving  at  in  your  case;  for 
he  asks  only  that,  if  he  take  you  from  here,  where  you'd 
starve  in  a  month  if  he  left  you,  you  shall  give  him  your 
word,  as  a  man  of  honour,  that  you  will  make  no  attempt 
to  leave  his  ship  without  permission.  Under  no  pretence 
or  plea  will  you  try  to  escape,  and,  whatever  you  see,  you 
will  not  complain  about  when  aboard  with  him.  You  are 
to  hold  no  converse  with  the  men,  nor  will  you  interfere 
with  them  in  any  work  they  do;  and  you  will  carry  out 
this  contract  not  only  in  the  letter  but  in  the  spirit.  If 
you  will  give  me  your  word  on  that  now,  you  can  pack 
your  trunk  and  come  aboard  without  any  fuss;  but  I  don't 
disguise  it  from  you,  that  any  folly  after  this  may  cost 
you  your  life,  and  that  if  you  have  half  a  thought  of  play- 
ing us  false,  you'd  better  stop  where  you  are." 

I  debated  the  whole  extent  of  his  proposition,  and  made 
up  my  mind  on  it  in  a  few  moments.  I  was  aware  that, 
if  I  remained  at  the  station,  I  could  expect  nothing  but 
speedy  death  upon  the  ice,  since  the  doctor  told  me  that 
the  place  would  be  deserted  during  the  winter.  Against 
this  I  had  to  ask  myself,  if  my  going  aboard  the  nameless 
ship  meant  in  any  way  approval  of  the  occupation  of  those 
who  sailed  it;  but  this  suggestion  was  too  trivial,  and  I 
dismissed  it  in  a  moment,  while  the  thought  flashed  across 
my  mind  that  if  I  could  but  once  be  taken  to  European  or 


212          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

American  waters,  there  would  DC  at  least  the  probability 
that  this  man  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  those  who  were 
seeking  him.  In  that  case  liberty  would  come  with  his  un- 
aoing,  which  was  even  more,  pleasant  to  think  upon  than 
to  contemplate  it  with  him  yet  free  as  a  voracious  beast  of 
the  seas. 

"You  accept?"  said  the  doctor,  who  sat  watching  me 
as  I  thought  these  things;  and  I  answered  him  without 
hesitation — 

"I  accept." 

"The  Captain  has  your  word  of  honour  as  between 
gentlemen  ?" 

"As  between — well,  if  you  like  it  so — as  between  gen- 
tlemen." 

The  satire  of  the  last  word  was  too  much  for  him,  for 
he  was  one  of  the  pleasantest  fellows  in  his  saner  moments 
that  I  have  ever  met.  We  both  laughed  heartily,  and  then 
he  said — 

"But  I'm  forgetting,  you've  got  no  trunk,  and  I  must 
lend  you  one.  You're  rather  short  of  duds,  I  know,  but 
we  can  rig  you  out  until  we  get  to  Paris,  and  there  the 
skipper  will  see  to  it — any  way,  so  long  as  you've  a  coat 
thick  enough,  we  won't  criticise  you  in  these  parts;  and  I 
don't  suppose  you're  thinking  of  garden  parties." 

"Anything  but,"  I  answered,  as  pleased  as  he  v/as  at 
the  prospect  of  it  all,  and  especially  at  the  thought  of  quit- 
ting the  ice-prison,  if  only  for  the  winter,  "I  have  neither 
clothes  nor  cash." 

"Well,  I  don't  see  what  you're  going  to  do  with  the 
latter,  just  yet;  but,  man,  you  can  just  help  yourself  from 
the  first  Cunarder  we  stop — pshaw,  don't  look  like  that; 
wait  until  you  feel  the  excitement  of  it  all.  Why,  what  is 


FROM  THE  DESOLATE  LAND.          213 

it  but  one  ship  against  the  world,  big  men  on  their  knees 
to  you,  money  enough  to  wade  in,  and  a  fig  for  all  the 
navies  and  all  the  fleets  that  ever  left  a  port?  I  defy  'em 
to  put  a  hand  on  the  ship  if  they  spend  a  million  in  the 
process.  Come  with  us  and  see  it  all,  and  you'll  say  it's 
the  most  daring,  the  grandest,  the  most  stupendous  enter- 
prise that  man  ever  conceived." 

It  was  no  good  to  lift  up  one's  voice  against  enthusiasm 
of  this  sort,  so  I  let  him  lead  me  to  his  room,  and  took 
from  him  a  trunk  with  some  linen.  As  he  said,  it  was 
more  convenient  to  have  my  own  things,  and  we  \\ere 
much  of  a  build,  so  that  his  clothes  were  no  ill-fit;  and  he 
was  ridiculously  generous,  pressing  all  that  he  had  upon 
me,  and  lending  me  a  great  gold  watch  and  gold  studs 
that  were  illicitly  gotten,  I  felt  sure. 

In  the  end  I  had  quite  a  store  of  clothing;  and  I  waited 
while  he  finished  his  own  work  that  we  might  go  down 
together  to  the  launch  awaiting  us.  There  we  found  Black, 
watching  men  who  were  putting  large  bales  of  goods  into 
the  screw  steamer,  and  everywhere  there  was  sign  of  the 
break-up  of  the  settlement.  The  Captain  merely  nodded 
when  I  gave  him  a  word,  and  I  thought  that  he  was  sore 
depressed,  with  scarce  energy  enough  to  be  irritable.  He 
seemed  to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  departure  even  then ; 
and  he  often  hesitated  in  his  walk,  looking  up  to  the  win- 
dows of  his  home  behind  him.  At  the  last,  when  the 
negro  servants  had  come  down  the  iron  stairway,  he 
locked  the  great  door  after  them;  and  then  he  stood  and 
cast  his  gaze  over  to  the  hills  and  the  desolate  land, 
which  I  believed  he  had  a  great  kindness  for.  When  he 
did  join  us,  he  gave  the  word,  "Let  her  go!"  with  a 
dogged  sort  of  indifference;  and  at  his  command  the  launch 


2H          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

ploughed  ahead,  and  passed  through  the  canyon  to  the 
outer  basin. 

The  sun  was  almost  in  the  horizon  then,  and  the  nor- 
thern lights  were  playing  in  the  heavens,  so  that  all  the 
water  was  then  alight  with  the  glory  of  a  hundred  colours. 
Now  orange,  or  a  lighter  golden,  or  blue  as  of  the  Cor- 
sican  Sea,  or  flaming  scarlet,  or  emerald  green,  or  all 
shades  of  yellow,  with  the  pink  and  pearl  and  fainter 
green  as  of  a  colossal  opal,  the  light  fell  and  spread  from 
bight  to  bight,  and  crag  to  crag;  and  above  there  were 
sheets  of  eruptive  flame  and  great  rumblings,  and  mighty 
arcs  of  fire  spanning  the  whole  heavens,  and  gripping 
them  as  with  the  glittering  jewelled  hand  of  some  mon- 
strous keeper  of  the  skies  whose  mutterings  came  to  us  be- 
low. Or  the  scene  changed  again,  and  it  was  as  though 
elves  of  the  zenith  had  brought  their  golden  caskets  above 
the  firmament,  and  there  had  burst  them  open,  so  that  all 
the  jewels  of  the  light  rained  upon  sea  and  land,  and 
burnt  each  other  with  their  own  beauty  as  they  fell;  and 
the  earth  answered  them  back  with  her  shining  face.  One 
of  the  supreme  moments  of  life,  truly,  to  bathe  in  this 
shower  of  multi-coloured  splendour,  to  follow  it  in  its 
golden  path,  where  rocks  took  shape,  and  snow-forms 
lived,  and  the  seas  danced  to  its  accompanying  music,  and 
one  stood  nearer  to  the  great  mysteries  while  yet  farther 
from  the  homes  of  man. 

Black  watched  the  Aurora  as  we  watched  it,  but  chiefly 
as  it  played  upon  his  ship,  lying  moored  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  outer  basin.  They  had  made  a  great  change  in  her 
since  I  had  seen  her  but  two  days  before ;  for  she  was  now 
given  bulwarks  of  white  canvas,  and  her  funnel  was 
painted  white,  while  covers  hid  away  the  bright  points  of 
her  deck-houses  and  her  turrets.  She  had  become  a  white 


THE  BLACK  PETER.  215 

ship;  and  her  transformation  had  been  made  with  vast 
skill,  so  that  I  felt  I  should  not  have  known  her  had  I 
met  her  on  the  Atlantic.  From  her  position  away  from  the 
shaft  of  the  mine,  it  was  evident  that  she  was  ready  to 
weigh,  and  I  was  reminded  grimly  of  her  mission  by  seeing 
a  streamer  of  black  at  her  mast-head  instead  of  the  Blue 
Peter.  This  time,  too,  there  was  a  faint  haze  above  her 
funnel,  as  though  coal  was  being  burnt  in  her  furnaces; 
yet  I  had  no  wonder  that  I  did  not  see  steam  coming 
from  her,  for  I  knew  that  she  was  driven  by  gas,  and  was 
in  many  ways  a  ship  of  mystery. 

We  boarded  her  at  a  ladder  amidships,  for  the  most 
part  of  her  accommodation  was  contained  in  a  towering 
deck  erection  round  her  funnel.  Here  there  were  two 
stages  of  cabins  with  a  wide  gallery  running  between 
them,  and  protruding  so  that  it  was  directly  above  the 
water.  There  was,  indeed,  a  companion-way  aft  of  this 
which  led  to  the  cabin  I  had  occupied  when  a  prisoner  in 
the  ship,  and  I  found  at  a  later  time  that  the  library  of  the 
vessel,  with  the  store-rooms  and  a  number  of  private 
cabins,  was  built  in  the  'tween  decks  abaft  the  funnel.  Yet 
the  great  saloon  I  was  to  use  during  so  many  months,  the 
quarters  which  Black  occupied,  the  doctor's  room,  the 
rooms  for  the  engineers  and  certain  of  the  others  who  were 
privileged,  were  all  ranged  amidships;  and  I  learned  that 
while  there  was  a  big  fo'castle,  it  was  given  over  entirely 
to  the  niggers,  with  whom  the  white  men  would  not  serve. 
These  superior  fellows,  as  they  thought  themselves,  had  ac- 
commodation in  the  poop,  where  there  was  a  big  cabin 
with  berths  all  round  it ;  yet  with  all  this,  the  small  part 
of  the  whole  vessel  devoted  to  quarters  was  noteworthy, 
and  was  designed,  I  did  not  doubt,  for  some  purpose  which 
I  should  learn  presently. 


216          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

These  things  I  did  not  ascertain,  you  may  be  sure,  on 
first  boarding  the  ship.  Although  they  left  me  to  myself 
upon  the  high  gallery  whence  I  could  see  all  the  life  on 
the  decks  below,  they  were  so  busy  with  the  preparation 
for  weighing  anchor  that  no  man  spoke  a  word  to  me.  The 
hands  themselves,  the  moment  they  were  afloat,  settled 
down  to  work  with  surprising  steadiness.  Black  upon  the 
bridge  now  wore  a  smart  uniform  with  gold  buttons  and 
show  of  lace;  and  the  self-command  of  the  man,  the  per- 
fect knowledge  of  all  things  nautical  which  he  displayed, 
and  his  all-absorbing  love  of  his  child,  the  ship,  accounted 
for  much  that  I  had  not  understood  in  him  before.  I 
found  to  my  amazement  that  Doctor  Osbart  acted  not 
only  as  surgeon  to  the  crew,  but  also  as  second  officer; 
"Four- Eyes"  being  first  officer;  and  the  bully,  "Roaring 
John,"  third.  The  coarse-mouthed  Scotsman  who  assumed 
the  title  of  "meenister"  was,  they  told  me,  as  good  a  sea- 
man as  any  of  them,  and  a  wonderful  gunner,  so  that  he 
was  in  charge  of  the  armament,  with  a  big  staff  of  men  at 
his  back.  Of  the  engineers  I  saw  nothing  on  first  coming 
aboard ;  but  later  I  heard  the  sound  of  pumping  below, 
and  there  came  up  to  the  bridge  where  Black  and  the 
others  were  a  little,  thin,  wizened,  and  spectacled  man, 
quite  bald,  very  ragged  and  black,  yet  with  a  head  on  him 
that  could  have  stamped  him  "First-Class"  in  any  assem- 
bly of  the  learned.  I  thought  at  the  first  glance  that  he 
was  a  German,  and  my  surmise  was  confirmed  by  the 
doctor,  who  remembered  me  at  last,  and  said — 

"Do  you  see  that  little  fellow? — well,  he's  the  genius  of 
this  ship.  He's  deaf  and  dumb,  and  no  man  has  ever  heard 
a  word  from  his  lips;  but  he  designed  our  engines,  and  he 
runs  them  with  his  three  sons.  It's  almost  pitiable  to  see 


THE  LITTLE  MAN  IN  RAGS.          217 

the  man's  disregard  for  anything  but  that  infernal  machin- 
ery. He  never  leaves  it;  it's  meat  and  drink  to  him.  If 
we  make  money,  he  doesn't  want  it;  if  we're  going  for  a 
spell  ashore,  he  won't  come,  but  stays  here  poking  about 
the  wheels.  He  was  the  first  man  in  all  Europe  to  see 
that  gas  would  finally  supplant  steam  for  maritime  vessels ; 
and  Black  gave  him  carte  blanche  to  carry  out  his  ideas 
on  this  ship.  You  may  be  surprised  to  hear  it,  but  fore 
and  aft  in  those  cigar-shaped  ends  of  ours  we  have  nothing 
but  gas — three  million  feet,  at  a  pressure  of  between  two 
and  three  atmospheres.  Why,  man,  it's  the  idea  of  the 
century ;  for  every  four  pounds  of  coal  burnt  by  an  Atlan- 
tic liner,  we  don't  burn  a  pound.  We  can  steam  for  ten 
days  without  lighting  a  fire;  and  all  the  coal  we  need  to 
go  round  the  world  will  go  in  our  bunkers.  Save  for 
that,  and  Karl  Remey's  genius,  there  wouldn't  be  a  man 
jack  of  us  with  a  neck  to  call  his  own  to-day.  Now,  we 
snap  our  fingers  at  the  best  of  them;  there  isn't  a  cruiser 
that  can  live  with  the  thirty  knots  we  can  show;  and 
there  isn't  a  line-of-battle  ship  swimming  that  could  get 
the  better  of  us  while  our  engines  are  moving.  It's  a  big 
claim  you  think,  but  wait  until  you  see  us  in  action,  then 
you'll  know  how  much  we  owe  to  the  little  man  in  rags, 
but  who  has  one  of  the  clearest  brains  that  ever  was  put 
into  human  being." 

I  was  silent  under  this  revelation,  for  it  came  to  me 
that,  with  all  the  terrors  of  the  great  ship,  there  was  also  a 
scientific  side,  which  marked  the  presence  of  a  mighty 
intellect.  The  doctor  saw  the  impression  he  had  made 
upon  me,  and  he  said — 

"To-morrow  we  will  show  you  more;  you  shall  meet 
the  ragged  man " 


218          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Which  is  mysel',''  said  the  Scotsman,  who  had  joined 
us  silently,  " mysel'  that  has'na  a  dud  to  my  back.  D'ye 
ken  that  when  there's  ony  distribution  o'  the  gudes  I  get 
a'  the  female  apparel;  which  is  no  justice  ava  for  a 
meenister,  let  alone  a  seafaring  man." 

"Never  mind,  Dick,"  said  the  doctor,  laughing,  as  I 
did;  "we'll  beg  a  skirt  for  you  the  first  time  we  say  how- 
d'ye-do  to  a  passenger  vessel " 

"Hands,  heave  anchor!"  roared  Black  at  that  moment; 
and  our  conversation  stopped  suddenly  at  the  cry.  Then 
slowly,  as  the  bell  rang  out,  the  great  engines  began  their 
work,  and  we  swept  out  to  the  open  sea.  Night  had 
fallen,  but  the  aurora  still  gave  her  changing  light;  and 
as  we  felt  the  first  oscillations  of  the  rolling  breakers, 
Black  took  a  long  look  behind  him  to  his  Arctic  home. 
There  before  us  was  the  black,  towering,  indented  coast 
of  Greenland,  the  bluff  headlands  of  gneiss,  the  beacons 
of  snow  all  crimson  in  the  playing  colours  of  the  mighty 
arc;  and  away  beyond  them,  the  vista  of  the  eternal  still- 
ness, and  the  plain  of  death.  A  long  look  it  was  that  the 
man  of  iron  cast  then  upon  his  wild  habitation ;  a  look  al- 
most prophetic  in  its  sadness,  as  if  he  knew  that  he  should 
look  upon  it  no  more.  A  great  farewell  of  an  iron  heart, 
and  the  breakers  sang  the  "Vale!"  as  the  ship  sped  on- 
ward to  her  deadly  work. 


219 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

TO   THE   LAND  OF  MAN. 

WE  dined  that  night  in  the  saloon  upon  the  deck,  a  com- 
modious place  lighted  by  electricity,  and  in  every  way 
luxuriously  fitted.  The  walls  of  it  were  panelled  in  white 
and  gold,  and  were  covered  with  curious  designs,  old 
heroes  fighting,  old  gods  drawn  by  lions  at  their  chariots; 
Bacchantes  revelling,  Jason  seeking  the  fleece  in  a  golden 
barque;  Orestes  fleeing  the  Furies.  The  long  seats  were 
covered  in  leather  of  a  deep  crimson,  and  there  was  a  small 
piano,  with  many  other  appointments  that  were  signifi- 
cant. The  dinner  itself  was  admirably  served,  and  was 
partaken  of  by  the  deaf-and-dumb  engineer,  by  the  doctor, 
the  Scotsman,  and  myself.  We  were  waited  on  by  a 
couple  of  negroes;  and  when  the  meats  were  removed  we 
went  above  to  an  exquisitely-furnished  little  smoking- 
room,  and  there  drank  rich  brown  coffee  and  enjoyed  some 
very  fine  cigars.  I  was  all  ears  then  to  learn,  if  I  could, 
what  was  the  destination  of  the  ship;  and  I  found  that 
Black  talked  without  reserve  before  me,  knowing  well 
that  I  could  do  him  no  injury.  He  relied  mostly  on  the 
doctor  for  advice,  and  discussed  everything  with  him  in  the 
best  of  tempers. 

"My  plan  is  this,"  he  said:  "we're  short  of  oil,  and 
Karl  here  is  beginning  to  get  uneasy.  I  shall  knock  over 
a  couple  of  whalers  in  these  seas,  and  fill  the  tanks.  Then, 
as  they're  looking  for  us  in  mid-Atlantic,  we'll  get  south 
of  Madeira,  and  run  against  two  or  three  of  the  big  ones 
making  for  Rio  or  Buenos  Ayres.  We  shall  pick  up  a  good 


220          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

bit  of  money ;  and  it'll  be  a  month  before  they  get  on  our 
course  that  way,  for  I  mean  to  let  'em  down  light  when 
it's  not  a  case  of  saving  our  own  skin." 

The  Scotsman  gave  a  deep  sigh  at  this,  and  said  in  a 
melancholy  voice — 

"Hoot  mon,  the  deid  frichtened  you." 

"You're  a  liar,"  continued  Black  quite  quietly,  and  then 
continued:  "As  Europe  knows  my  game,  it  doesn't  matter 
how  often  she  hears  of  me.  Let  her  hear,  and  come  agen 
me,  and  I'll  show  my  teeth.  What  we're  out  for  this 
journey  is  money,  specie,  pieces  in  piles,  and  we'll  get  that 
on  the  lay  of  Rio-bound  ships  better  than  in  any  waters. 
It'll  be  quick  work,  one  against  the  rest  of  'em ;  but  I  built 
this  ship  to  fight,  and  fight  she  shall — you  agree  on  that, 
Doctor?" 

"Of  course.  The  more  fighting  the  men  see  the  less 
trouble  we  shall  have  with  them." 

"That's  what  I  say — give  'em  work  to  do,  and  they'll 
sleep  like  dogs  when  it's  done;  give  'em  money  and  drink, 
and  you've  got  hogs  to  drive.  Now,  let  me  get  through 
the  winter,  and  I'll  run  south  a  spell  in  hiding,  and  then 
make  northward  with  ten  thousand  pounds  a  man  when 
the  fall  comes.  But  first  we'll  have  a  week  in  Paris, 
I  reckon,  and  stretch  our  legs  amongst  them  as  is  most 
anxious  to  shake  with  us — what  do  you  say,  Dick?'' 

"Man,"  said  the  Scotsman  deliberately,  "if  there's  nae 
killing,  I  misdoubt  me  o't  a'  thegither." 

"You're  a  fool,"  replied  the  skipper  testily,  "and  if  you 
don't  go  to  bed,  I'll  kick  you  there." 

The  fellow  rose  at  this,  and  coolly  emptied  half  a  tum- 
bler of  whisky;  but  before  he  could  leave-  "Four-Eyes" 
:ame  off  the  bridge  and  said  laconically — 


JOHN  IS  STRUCK  DUMB.  221 

"Whaler  on  the  port-bow." 

"Signal  'em  to  come  to,  and  drop  a  shot,"  cried  Black 
rising;  and  then  he  called  to  the  Scotsman  and  gave  his 
orders — 

"Stand  by  the  gun!"  and  with  that  we  all  went  out  to 
the  gallery,  and  saw  by  the  clear  power  of  the  moon  a  full- 
rigged  ship  not  a  mile  from  the  shore.  She  was  homeward 
bound,  and  seemed  by  her  build  to  be  a  Dane. 

Upon  our  own  deck  there  was  already  activity,  some  of 
the  men  getting  away  the  launch,  and  others  putting 
empty  barrels  into  it  before  they  swung  it  out  over  the  sea. 
There  was  a  method  and  quietness  about  it  all,  which 
showed  long  habit  at  the  same  practice;  and  when  at  last 
the  great  gun  before  the  funnel  boomed  out,  the  fine  accu- 
racy of  the  shooting  scarcely  caused  comment.  The  shot 
appeared  to  drop  into  the  water  almost  under  the  whaler's 
bob-stay,  and  sent  up  a  cloud  of  foam  and  spray,  glistening 
in  the  moonlight ;  but  the  ship  answered  to  it  as  to  a  deadly 
summons;  and  the  tide  and  wind  setting  off  shore,  she 
went  intp  the  breeze  easily,  and  lay  to  at  the  first  demand. 
Then  Black  gave  his  orders — 

"You,  John,  go  aboard  and  buy  their  oil  up — I'm  get- 
ting you  notes  from  my  chest." 

At  the  word  buy,  the  man  John  seemed  astounded. 

"Oh,  I  reckon,"  he  said,  "we'll  pay  'em  hard  cash  with 
a  clout  on  the  skull,  Cap'n;  come  right  along,  boys  and 
bring  your  shootin'  irons.  Oh,  I  guess  we'll  pay  'em, 
money  down,  and  men  a-top  of  it." 

"You'll  do  nothing  of  the  sort,  you  lubber!"  roared 
Black ;  "but  what  you  take  you'll  pay  for,  d'ye  hear  me? — 
then  shut  your  mouth  up  and  go  aboard." 

John  was  not  the  only  man  who  was  struck  dumb  by 


222          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

the  skipper's  whim.  There  were  mutterings  on  the  deck 
below,  and  Dick,  who  had  come  from  the  conning-tower, 
was  bold  enough  to  make  remark. 

"It's  a'most  sinfu',"  he  said,  "to  be  sae  free  wi'  the 
siller;  why,  man,  ye  could  verra  weel  buy  me  a  hundred 
pairs  o'  breeks  wi'  the  same,  and  no  be  wanting  it." 

Cut  Black  was  watching  the  launch,  now  speeding  in 
the  moonlight  towards  the  rolling  whaler.  I  watched  it 
too,  remembering  how,  not  many  weeks  before,  I  had  stood 
on  the  deck  of  my  own  yacht,  and  awaited  the  coming  of 
the  same  craft  with  my  heart  in  my  mouth.  Now  the 
danger  was  not  mine,  but  I  felt  for  the  men  who  had  to 
face  it,  since  Black's  talk  about  purchase  could  scarcely 
soften  the  native  ferocity  of  those  who  served  him;  and  I 
feared  that  the  scene  would  end  in  bloodshed. 

Happily  the  surmise  was  quite  incorrect.  That  which 
premised  a  tragedy  gave  us  but  a  comedy.  We  saw  from 
the  platform  that  our  men  were  taken  aboard  the  ship,  and 
we  watched  to  see  them  hoist  their  barrels  after  them. 
But  they  did  not,  making  no  sign  of  having  the  oil,  al- 
though there  came  shouts,  and  sounds  of  altercation  from 
the  anchored  vessel;  and  we  saw  the  flash  of  pistols,  and 
dark  objects  presently  in  the  sea.  To  the  surprise  of  us 
all,  the  launch  returned  after  that;  and  when  our  men 
came  aboard,  they  presented  a  shocking  spectacle.  "Roar- 
ing John"  was  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  a  thick, 
black,  oleaginous  matter;  two  of  the  others  had  their  faces 
smeared  in  tar;  the  rest  were  like  drowned  rats,  and  were 
chattering  until  their  teeth  clashed  with  the  cold.  Nor 
could  they  for  some  time,  what  with  their  spluttering  and 
their  anger,  tell  us  what  misfortune  had  overtaken  them. 

"The  darned  empty  skunks" — gasped  John  at  last — 


NO   WHALES.  223 

"they  haven't  got  a  barrel  aboard,  not  a  barrel,  I  guess; 
and  when  I  gave  'em  play  with  my  tongue,  they  put  me  in 
the  waste-tub — oh,  I  reckon,  up  to  my  eyes  in  it " 

"Do  you  mean  to  say,"  asked  Black,  "that  they've  took 
no  whales?" 

"Except  ourselves,  yer  honour,"  said  a  little  English- 
man, who  was  cowering  like  a  drowned  rat,  "which  they 
throw'd  overboard,  like  the  whales  in  the  Scriptures,  never 
a  fish." 

"Then  we've  wasted  our  time!"  cried  the  skipper, 
stamping  his  great  foot;  "and  you're  lazy  vermin  to  stop 
so  long  aboard  parleying  wTith  'em.  I'm  going  on ;  you  can 
settle  your  scores  among  you." 

He  gave  the  order,  "Full  steam  ahead!"  at  which  the 
third  officer  showed  the  temper  of  a  whipped  beast. 

"You're  going  ahead  leaving  them  swimming?  Then 
darn  me  if  I  serve,"  said  he.  "What?  They  pitch  me  in 
their  dirty  tub,  and  you  laugh?  By  thunder!  I'll  teach 
you." 

Captain  Black  watched  his  anger  with  a  pitying  leer; 
but  "Dick  the  Ranter"  and  "Four-Eyes"  were  overcome 
with  laughter,  and  roared  until  the  ship  echoed. 

"Houly  Moses,  it's  a  fine  picture  ye  are,  my  beauty," 
said  the  mate;  "and  if  oi'll  be  scraping  ye  down  with  a 
shovel,  it's  yer  own  fayther  wouldn't  knowr  ye,  so  clane 
yell  be." 

"To  the  which  I  would  add,  man,"  said  Dick,  "that  if 
ye'd  let  yersel'  drip  into  the  lubricators  ye'd  be  worth 
siller  to  us;  not  to  say  onything  o'  the  discoorse  I  micht 
verra  weel  preach  on  Satan  from  yer  present  appearance." 

The  banter  turned  the  man  from  his  more  meaning 
purpose.  He  stood  gibbering  for  a  moment,  while  the 
crowd  pressed  on  him  with  gibes  and  jeers;  but  he  had  his 


±24          THE  SHADOW  Oti  THE  SEA. 

revenge,  after  all,  for  there  was  a  tar-bucket  at  the  foot  of 
the  upper-deck  ladder,  and  with  this  he  armed  himself. 
The  brush  was  well-charged  and  dripping,  the  tar  yet 
liquid,  the  Scotsman's  face  was  all-inviting.  With  a  fierce 
shout  the  enraged  man  went  to  the  attack,  and  painted  his 
lantern-jawed  opponent  merrily.  In  less  time  than  I  can 
tell  of  it,  the  Ranter  dripped  from  head  to  foot;  the  black 
stuff  poured  from  his  hemp-like  hair,  from  his  ears,  it 
oozed  down  his  neck,  it  even  ran  through  to  his  boots, 
and  when  his  enemy  could  no  longer  wield  the  brush  from 
fatigue,  he  emptied  the  bucket  ori  the  man's  head  as  a  last 
triumphant  vindication  of  his  strength. 

"Now  we're  a  pair!"  he  said,  pausing  for  breath,  and 
surveying  his  work  as  an  artist  surveys  a  finished  picture; 
"and  I  guess  you  ain't  going  to  take  the  biscuit  in  this 
beauty  show." 

"Man,  I  could  hae  vveel  dispensed  wi  't,"  sputtered  the 
Scotsman  ;  "but  I  thank  ye  for  dyeing  my  breeks.  They've 
been  wanting  colour  since  New  Year." 

The  laughter  had  hot  yet  died  away  when  the  men  went 
to  their  cabins,  and  we  posted  the  watches  before  turning 
in.  We  were  at  that  time  in  Lat.  65°  N.  at  a  rough  calcula- 
tion, and  we  passed  the  Danish  settlement  of  Godthaab  on 
the  next  morning,  though  so  far  out  at  sea  that  I  could 
make  nothing  of  it ;  while  we  lost  the  coast  of  Greenland 
altogether  before  the  day  had  passed,  a  hazy  shower  of 
dust-like  snow  greeting  our  coming  to  the  Atlantic  and  to 
a  perceptibly  warmer  latitude.  During  this  day,  and  until 
we  sighted  the  Shetlands,  the  small  screw  tender  kept  our 
course,  and  we  exchanged  signals  with  her  every  morning, 
her  purpose  being  explained  to  me  by  "Four-Eyes,"  ori  the 
fourth  morning  out,  in  his  child-like  phraseology. 


"'COALS  AV  FIRE."  225 

"Faith,  she's  Liverpool  bound,  and  we'll  pick  her  up 
again  south  of  the  Scilly  when  she's  tidings  of  ships  out. 
Bedad,  sir,  there's  fine  times  coming;  what  wi'  the  say 
full  av  big  ones,  and  we  one  agen  'em,  I'm  like  to  believe 
as  we'll  step  ashore  with  our  throats  cut,  ivery  man  av  us, 
and  on  the  shore  av  me  own  counthry,  which  sorra  a  day  I 
left  for  this  job." 

"Why  did  you  leave  it,  'Four-Eyes'?"  I  asked  cheer- 
fully ;  and  he  said — 

"  'Twas  this  way,  sorr,  but  it's  a  long  yarn,  and  ye 
don't  nade  more  than  the  p'ints  av  it.  When  I  was 
priest's  bhoy  in  Tipperary,  me  and  Mike  Sullivan  had 
atween  us  what  you  gents  call  a  vendeny,  and  coming  out 
av  church — 'twas  Sunday  mornin'  five  year  ago — I  met 
Mike,  an'  he  put  coals  av  fire  on  me  head.  'Begorra,' 
says' I,  'it's  lucky  for  ye  I'm  in  the  grace,  but  plase  God 
I'll  not  be  to-morrow!'  but  the  spalpeen  went  to  Cork 
next  day,  and  it  wasn't  till  a  year  that  I  run  agen  him, 
prepared  to  do  my  dooty." 

"And  you  did  it,  I'll  be  bound!" 

"Sorra  a  bit;  I  just  fell  in  with  the  divil,  being  an  aisy 
sort  av  sowl,  and  he  made  me  as  drunk  as  a  gentleman — 
that's  why  I'm  here,  sorr.  He  shipped  me  aboard  and  got 
five  pounds  for  me,  me  that  meant  to  thread  on  his  head, 
the  dirty  skunk — but  it's  the  way  av  the  world,  sorr;  help 
a  man  that's  down,  an'  the  moment  the  spalpeen's  on  his 
fate  he'll  dance  on  ye." 

"Which  is  verra  true,"  said  Dick  the  Ranter,  who  after 
two  days  had  still  tar  upon  him,  and  was  wrapped  in  a 
woman's  shawl;  "but  will  ye  postpone  your  thirdly,  and 
go  below  to  the" doctor,  who's  wanting  ye  to  see  the  gear?" 

They  had  not  yet  shown  me  the  engines  of  the  nameless 
ship,  and  I  welcomed  the  opportunity,  grown  weary  with 


226          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

watching  the  dull  green  of  the  sea,  and  the  monotony  of 
the  sky-laden  clouds.  Dick  led  the  way  quickly  from  the 
gallery  to  the  lower  deck,  and  thence  down  an  iron  ladder 
to  the  great  engine-room.  Here  truly  was  a  wondrous 
sight;  the  sight  of  three  sets  of  the  most  powerful  engines 
that  have  yet  been  placed  in  a  battle-ship.  Each  of  them 
had  four  cylinders,  eighty  inches  in  diameter;  and  all  were 
driven  by  the  hydrogen  from  the  huge  gasometers  which 
our  -holds  formed.  The  gas  itself  was  made  by  passing 
the  steam  from  a  comparatively  small  boiler  through  a 
coke  and  anthracite  furnace,  the  coke  combining  with  the 
oxygen  and  leaving  pure  hydrogen.  The  huge  cylinders 
drove  upwards  with  a  double  crank  to  carry  their  motion 
to  the  screw;  and  I  found  that  the  difficulty  of  starting 
and  reversing  was  overcome  by  an  intermediate  bevel- 
wheel  gearing  and  friction  clutch,  which  could  thro\v  the 
motion  off  the  shaft,  and  allow  that  instantaneous  going 
astern  otherwise  impossible  in  a  gas-engine.  That  day 
there  was  a  huge  fire  in  the  furnace,  emitting  terrific  heat 
and  crackling  sparks,  for  the  men  were  making  gas,  in 
view  of  a  run  or  two  off  the  coast  of  Ireland.  It  was  more 
pleasant  than  I  can  tell  you  to  watch  the  entire  absorption 
of  the  gifted  engineer,  in  the  maze  of  machinery  which 
surrounded  him,  to  paint  the  paternal  pathos  of  his  look 
as  he  watched  every  motion  and  eyed  every  bearing.  The 
maker  of  an  empire  certainly  he  was;  the  man  of  mind 
who,  for  the  time,  had  given  these  ruffians  the  kingship 
of  the  sea;  had  made  mockery  of  the  opposition  of  the 
nations;  and,  I  could  not  help  but  reflect  as  I  turned 
away  sick  at  heart  at  the  sight  of  so  much  power,  had 
caused  me  to  be  a  prisoner,  perhaps  for  life,  in  that  citadel 
of  metal.  Yet,  he  was  a  genius;  and  to  the  end  of  my 


OUT  OF  THE  NIGHT.  227 

days  I  shall  think,  as  I  thought  then,  of  the  superb  gifts 
so  wasted  in  their  channel,  of  the  masterful  intellect  de- 
voted only  to  pillage  and  plunder. 

In  such  a  frame  of  mind  I  left  the  engine-room  and 
mounted  to  the  upper  deck,  to  hear  the  cry,  "Land  on  the 
port  bow." 

It  was  the  coast  of  Ireland,  they  told  me;  and  I  know 
not  if  I  have  ever  had  a  greater  pleasure  than  that  distant 
view  of  my  own  country  gave  to  me.  For  it  was  as  though 
I  had  passed  from  a  dead  land  to  the  land  of  man,  from 
the  silent  ways  of  night  to  the  first  breaking  of  the  God- 
sent  day. 


228 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  ROBBERY  OF  THE  "BELLONIC." 

OUR  view  of  the  distant  shore  of  Ireland  was  a  fleeting 
one;  and  we  passed  thence  almost  immediately  to  the 
open  sea,  steaming  due  S.  W.  for  some  hours,  but  at  no 
great  pace.  It  was  not  until  daybreak  on  the  following 
morning  that  we  reached  the  track  of  ocean-bound  ships; 
but  our  voyage  was  altogether  in  favour  of  Black,  for  the 
sun  had  scarce  risen  when  Doctor  Osbart  got  me  from  my 
bed  to  see  what  he  called  my  first  introduction  to  business. 

"There's  the  Red  Cross  Line's  Bellonic  not  a  mile  off 
on  the  starboard  quarter,"  cried  he  exultingly,  "and  we're 
going  to  clear  her.  Come  out,  man,  and  get  the  finest 
breakfast  you  ever  tasted." 

I  dressed  anyhow,  almost  as  excited  as  he  was,  and 
stepped  on  to  the  gallery,  to  see  a  rolling  waste  of  dull- 
green  breakers,  and  a  sky  washed  with  broken  thunder- 
clouds, through  which  the  risen  sun  was  struggling.  The 
wind  was  keen  from  the  south,  and  drove  a  fine  rain, 
which  lashed  the  face  as  with  a  whip ;  while  much  spray 
broke  upon  us  and  there  was  moaning  of  the  cowls  and 
the  shrouds,  and  many  signs  of  more  wind  to  come. 
These  atmospheric  difficulties  troubled  no  one,  however, 
for  all  eyes  were  turned  to  the  north,  where  now  almost 
abreast  of  us,  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  or  less,  there  was 
the  long  and  magnificent  hull  of  the  great  liner.  She  was 
then  in  the  full  sunlight,  a  fine  spectacle ;  and  I  could  see 
her  bare  decks,  trodden  only  by  the  watch,  while  a  solitary 


SWEARING  DICK  SHOOTS.  229 

officer  paced  the  bridge.  The  contrast  between  her  sleepy 
inactivity  and  our  keen  alertness  was  very  marked,  for  all 
hands  trod  our  decks,  and  there  was  a  restlessness  and  an 
evident  ferocity  amongst  the  little  group  upon  the  bridge 
which  marked  a  purpose  brooking  no  delay. 

I  had  begun  to  ask  myself  when  the  work  would  be 
done,  for  the  liner  went  at  a  tremendous  pace  and  was 
rapidly  leaving  us,  when  I  got  my  answer  with  the  crash  of 
the  great  gun  forward,  and  the  sight  of  a  shell  ploughing 
the  sea  fifty  yards  ahead  of  the  Bellonic.  The  cries  of 
"Well  shot,  Swearing  Dick!"  had  not  died  away  before 
the  effect  of  the  call  was  seen  upon  the  great  vessel,  whose 
decks  were  soon  dotted  with  black  objects,  while  three 
more  men  appeared  on  the  bridge,  and  the  signal  flags  ran 
up,  and  were  answered  by  us.  "Four-Eyes"  was  at  our 
mast,  and  interpreted  the  message  to  Black,  who  followed 
all  that  was  done  without  betrayal  of  emotion,  but  only 
with  the  savage  anticipation  of  the  predatory  instinct. 

"Signal  to  'em  to  lie  to,  if  they  don't  want  to  go  to 
hell,"  he  said  between  his  teeth,  and  "Four-Eyes"  an- 
swered : 

"Ay,  ay,  sorr;"  then,  as  the  signal  came,  "He  sez  uz 
he'll  say  us  at  blazes  afore  he  bates  a  knot." 

"Give  it  him  for'ard  then,  and  teach  him,"  roared 
Black,  and  the  shot  that  answered  his  command  struck  the 
quivering  hull  not  twenty  feet  from  the  windlass  and  you 
could  3^e  the  splinters  carried  fifty  feet  in  the  air,  while 
the  shrieks  of  terror  came  over  the  sea  to  us,  and  were 
piercing  then. 

"What's  k™  say  now?"  asked  the  Captain  cooler  than 
even  at  the  beginning  of  the  work. 

"Says  as  he'll  make  it  warm  for  ye  at  New  York,  and 


230          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

if  ye  come  aboard,  it's  on  yer  own  head,  an'  ye  swing  fer 
it — he'll  not  stop  till  ye  disable  him." 

"The  thick-headed  vermin, "  hissed  Black;  "give  him 
another,  amidships  this  time." 

The  second  shot  made  us  reel  and  shiver  as  she  left  us; 
but  there  was  no  hit,  for  we  rolled  much,  and  saw  the 
shell  burst  on  the  far  side  of  the  liner.  At  this,  and  at 
the  failure  of  a  second  attempt,  the  Captain  lost  patience, 
and  gave  the  order — 

"Full  steam  ahead,  and  clear  the  machine  guns.'' 

It  was  almost  superb,  I  admit  now,  and  the  excitement 
of  it  was  then  upon  me,  to  feel  our  great  ship  quiver  at  the 
touch  of  the  bell,  and  bound  forward  with  waves  of  foam 
and  spray  running  from  her  decks,  and  each  plate  on  her 
straining  as  though  the  mighty  force  of  the  engines  below 
would  rend  it  from  its  fellows. 

I  had  not  before  known  the  limit  of  her  speed,  or  what 
she  could  do  when  driven  as  she  then  was;  and  the  truth 
amazed  me,  while  it  rilled  me  with  a  strange  exultation. 
For  we,  who  had  dallied  heretofore  behind  the  other,  sped 
beyond  her  as  an  express  train  passes  the  droning  goods; 
and  coming  about,  in  a  great  circle,  we  descended  upon  her 
as  a  goshawk  upon  the  quarry. 

The  machine-guns  upon  our  decks  were  already  cleared  ; 
the  men  were  stripped,  ready  for  the  fray,  as  tigers  for 
their  food.  Indeed,  before  I  quite  understood  the  purport 
of  the  manoeuvre,  we  were  passing  the  Bellonic  at  a  dis- 
tance of  not  more  than  fifty  yards;  and  at  that  moment 
it  seemed  as  if  all  the  furies  of  hell  were  let  loose  upon 
our  decks. 

Screaming  like  wild  beasts,  the  men  turned  the  handles 
of  the  Maxim  guns;  the  balls  rained  upon  the  defenceless 
liner  as  hail  upon  a  sheepfold.  I  heard  fierce  curses  and 


H4NDS  FOR  THE  LAUNCH!  231 

dull  groans ;  I  saw  strong  men  reel  and  fall  their  length  as 
death  took  them ;  the  breeze  bore  to  me  the  wailing  of 
women,  and  the  sobs  of  children. 

But  we  had  done  the  foul  work  in  the  one  passage,  for 
the  flag  dropped  at  once  upon  the  liner,  and  the  signal  was 
made  to  us  to  come  aboard.  We  had  gained  a  horrid 
triumph,  if  such  you  could  call  the  murders,  and  it  re- 
mained but  to  divide  the  spoil. 

"Lower  away  the  launch,  you  John!"  cried  Black;  "and 
take  every  shilling  you  can  lay  hands  on.  You  hear  me? 
— and  hang  up  that  skipper  for  a  thin-skinned  fool." 

"By  thunder,  I'm  yours  all  along,"  replied  "Roaring 
John";  and  then  he  sang  out,  "Hands  for  the  launch!" 

"You'd  better  go  as  cox,"  said  Osbart  to  me,  "you'll  be 
amused ;"  and  suggested  it  to  Black,  who  turned  upon  me 
a  look  almost  of  hate. 

"Yes,  he  shall  go,"  he  cried;  "if  we  swing,  he  shall 
swing,  the  preaching  lubber!  Let  him  get  aboard,  or  I'll 
kick  him  there." 

I  had  loathing  at  the  thought  of  it,  but  might  as  well 
have  put  a  pistol  to  my  head  there  and  then  as  to  have 
refused.  They  bundled  me  into  the  launch,  and  I  sat 
shivering  at  the  prospect  of  the  terrors  on  the  deck;  but 
they  would  not  leave  me  when  they  came  alongside,  and 
"Roaring  John"  himself  drove  me  up  the  ladder  which 
was  put  out  amidships.  Seven  of  us  at  last  stood  on  the 
bridge,  and  were  face  to  face  with  the  captain  of  the 
Bellonic,  and  four  of  his  officers. 

I  have  said  that  I  feared  the  terrors  of  that  deck,  but 
the  reality  surpassed  the  conception. 

It  was  a  very  babel  of  sounds,  of  groans,  of  weeping. 
The  ship's  surgeon  himself  seemed  paralysed  before  the 
sight  of  the  carnage  around  him.  You  looked  along  the 


232          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

length  of  the  vessel,  and  it  was  as  though  you  looked  upon 
the  scene,  of  a  bloody  battle;  for  there  were  dead  almost  in 
heaps,  and  wounded  screaming,  and  streams  of  blood,  and 
fragments  of  wreckage  as  though  the  ship  had  been  under 
fire  for  many  hours.  But  above  all  this  terror,  I  know  of 
nothing  which  struck  me  with  such  fearful  sorrow  as  the 
sight  of  a  fair  young  English  girl  lying  by  the  door  of  the 
great  saloon,  her  arms  extended,  her  nut-brown  hair 
soaked  in  her  own  blood,  while  a  man  knelt  over  her,  and 
you  could  see  his  tears  falling  upon  her  dead  face,  and  his 
ravings  were  incoherent  and  almost  those  of  a  maniac.  At 
the  sight  of  us  he  jumped  to  his  feet,  and  shrieked  "Mur- 
derers!'' so  continuously  that  the  echo  of  his  cry  rang  in 
my  ears  that  day  and  for  many  days. 

Meanwhile  another  scene  was  passing  on  the  bridge 
between  the  man  John  and  the  captain  of  the  Bellonic. 

"What  do  you  want  aboard  of  my  ship?"  cried  the 
latter;  and  "Roaring  John"  answered  him  with  a  mock- 
ing leer: 

"We've  come  aboard  to  hang  you,  to  begin  on!" 

The  men  with  the  young  officer  cocked  their  revolvers 
at  this,  and  I  said  in  a  mad  frenzy  which  would  not  brook 
silence — 

"You  scoundrel,  if  you  touch  another  soul  here  I'll  shoot 
you  myself!"  for  I  had  my  revolver  on  me.  "Do  you 
make  a  business  of  killing  children?"  I  cried  again,  and 
pointed  to  the  dead  body  of  the  girl-child. 

I  don't  know  who  was  more  surprised,  the  captain  of 
the  Bellonic,  listening,  or  the  man  John. 

"You  cub,"  he  cried;  "if  you  talk  to  me  I'll  skin  you 
alive!"  but  I  said  quickly — 

"Gentlemen,  these  men  want  every  shilling  on  this  ship. 
Give  it  to  them  now  and  save  your  lives,  for  you  have  no 


"BAIL   UP/"  233 

alternative.  If  you  give  the  money  up,  you  have  my  word 
that  they  won't  touch  you." 

"If  there's  a  God  above,"  exclaimed  the  young  captain, 
"they  shall  pay  for  this  day's  work  with  their  lives.  I 
hand  my  specie  over  under  this  protest;  but  don't  de- 
ceive yourselves — half  the  war-ships  in  Europe  shall  follow 
you  within  a  week." 

He  turned  away,  and  presently  the  ruffians  with  me  had 
lowered  money  to  the  value  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand pounds  into  their  launch.  The  third  mate  seemed 
then  somewhat  cowed  by  my  interference,  and  though  he 
went  round  the  ship  and  cried  "Bail  up!"  every  time  he 
met  a  passenger,  he  did  not  touch  one  of  them.  I  re- 
mained on  the  bridge  a  silent  spectator  of  it  all ;  and  when 
at  last  we  put  off  again,  and  the  launch  was  full  of  the 
jewels  and  the  money,  it  seemed  that  I  had  passed  through 
a  hideous  dream. 

At  the  time,  I  shrank  from  the  ruffians  in  the  boat  as 
from  men  who  were  savage  fiends  and  a  hundred  times 
assassins ;  and  their  brutality  of  speech  and  of  threat  fell 
upon  ears  that  would  not  hear;  nor  did  their  pretence 
of  doing  me  violence  then  and  there  move  me  one  jot.  I 
maintained  a  stubborn  indifference,  my  pistol  still  in  my 
hand,  my  teeth  shut  in  the  defiance  of  them,  until  we 
reached  the  great  craft,  and  joined  Black  upon  the  gallery. 
There,  the  man  John  explained  that  I  had  stood  between 
him  and  his  purpose  cf  hanging  the  skipper  of  the  Bel- 
Ionic;  indeed,  with  such  warmth  of  anger,  that  I  thought 
my  end  had  come  upon  the  spot. 

"You  barking  cub,"  said  Black,  more  quietly  than 
usual,  but  none  the  less  to  be  feared  for  that,  "what  d'ye 
mean  by  interfering  with  my  men  and  my  orders?" 


234          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"To  save  you  from  yourself,"  I  answered,  looking  him 
full  in  the  face;  "you've  killed  children  on  that  ship,  if 
that's  news  to  you!" 

He  had  a  spy-glass  in  his  hand,  and  he  raised  it  as 
though  to  strike  me;  but  I  continued  to  look  him  full  in 
the  face,  and  he  remained  swaying  his  body  slightly,  his 
arm  still  above  his  head.  Then,  suddenly  it  dropped  at  his 
side,  as  though  paralysed ;  and  he  turned  away  from  me. 

"Get  to  your  kennel,"  said  he;  "and  don't  leave  it  till 
I  fetch  you." 

I  was  glad  to  escape,  if  only  for  a  few  moments,  from 
the  danger  of  it ;  and  I  went  to  my  cabin  in  the  upper  gal- 
lery, but  not  before  the  angry  shouts  of  the  men  convinced 
me  that  Black  had  risked  much  on  my  behalf  for  the  sec- 
ond time.  Even  when  my  own  door  was  locked  upon  me, 
such  cries  as  "You're  afeard  of  him!"  "Is  he  going  to 
boss  you,  skipper?"  and  other  jeers  were  audible  to  me; 
and  the  uproar  lasted  for  some  time,  accompanied  at  the 
last  by  the  sounds  of  blows,  and  cries  as  of  men  whipped. 
But  no  one  came  to  me  except  the  negro  with  my  meals; 
and  whatever  danger  there  was  of  a  mutiny  was  averted, 
as  Doctor  Osbart  told  me  later  in  the  day,  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  second  passenger  ship  upon  the  horizon.  The 
report  of  the  single  shot,  by  which  we  brought  her  to, 
shook  me  in  my  berth,  where  I  lay  thinking  of  the  horrid 
scenes  of  the  morning;  and  for  some  time  I  scarce  dared 
look  from  my  window,  lest  they  should  be  repeated.  Only 
after  a  long  silence  did  I  open  the  port,  and  see  a  majestic 
vessel,  not  a  hundred  yards  from  us,  with  our  launch  at 
her  side;  and  I  could  make  out  the  forms  of  our  men 
walking  amongst  the  passengers  and  robbing  them. 

The  details  of  this  attack  Osbart  told  me  with  keen 


SWARMING  WITH  WAR-VERMIN.       235 

relish  when  he  came  in  to  smoke  a  cigar  with  me  after 
my  dinner. 

"We  stripped  them  without  killing  a  man,"  said  he 
with  hilarious  satisfaction,  "and  took  fifty  thousand. 
Black's  pleased ;  for,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  there's  an  ugly 
spirit  aboard  amongst  the  men,  and  you  upset  them  al- 
together this  morning.  I  never  saw  another  who  could 
have  said  what  you  said  to  the  skipper  and  have  lived ;  but 
you  mustn't  show  on  deck  for  a  day  or  two — they'd  mur- 
der you  to  pass  time;  and,  as  it  is,  we'd  had  to  post  a  man 
at  your  door,  or  I  doubt  if  you'd  save  your  skin  in  here." 

"You  seem  to  be  making  a  paying  cruise,"  I  said  sar- 
castically. 

"Yes;  and  it's  funny,  for  the  sea  is  swarming  with  wa-r 
vermin.  Don't  you  feel  the  pace  we're  going  now?  I  ex- 
pect we're  showing  our  heels  to  one  of  them,  and  shall 
show  them  a  good  many  times  between  this  and  the  first 
of  next  month,  though  Karl  below  is  grumbling  about  the 
oil  again ;  you  want  gallons  of  it  writh  gas-engines.  If  we 
don't  pick  up  the  tender  to-morrow,  it's  a  bad  look-out." 

He  did  not  come  to  me  again  for  three  days,  but  I  saw 
from  my  port  early  on  the  following  morning  that  the 
tender  was  with  us;  and  I  concluded  regretfully  that  the 
difficulty  of  the  oil  was  overcome.  On  the  second  day  after 
the  robbery  of  the  Bellonic,  we  stopped  a  third  ship; 
though  I  saw  nothing  of  it,  as  all  the  fighting  was  on  the 
starboard  side,  and  my  cabin  was  to  port ;  but  there  was  a 
sharp  fight  on  the  third  morning  with  a  Cape-bound  ves- 
sel, and  again  towards  the  afternoon  with  one  of  trie 
N^orth-German  Lloyd  boats  homeward  bound  to  Bremer- 
haven;  as  before,  Osbart,  coming  to  my  rooms,  delighted 
to  give  me  the  details  of  the  capture;  and  that  night  he 
was  unusually  frivolous. 


236          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Poor  business  to-day,"  he  said,  throwing  himself  into 
a  lounge  and  lighting  a  cigar ;  "not  an  ounce  of  specie,  and 
no  jewellery  to  mention — and  there  was  no  killing,  so 
don't  put  on  that  face  of  yours.  Why,  my  dear  boy,  it 
was  a  perfect  farce!  I,  myself,  argued  for  twenty  mirrutes 
with  an  old  woman,  who  sat  mewing  like  a  cat  on  her  box, 
and  when  I  got  her  off  it,  thinking  she  had  a  thousand  in 
diamonds,  it  was  full  of  baby  linen.  And  I'll  tell  you  a 
better  thing.  An  old  Dutch  Jew  threw  a  twopenny-half- 
penny bundle  into  the  sea,  and  then  he  was  so  sick  with 
himself  that  he  went  in  after  it.  We  hooked  him  out  by 
the  breeches  with  the  boat-hook;  but  I  believe  he  wished 
himself  dead  with  the  bundle.  As  for  'Four-Eyes,'  he 
took  what  he  thought  was  five  hundred  in  notes  from  a 
card-player,  but  they're  bad,  dear  boy,  bad — every  one  of 
them." 

"You  don't  seem  very  depressed  about  it,"  said  I. 

"Don't  I?"  replied  he.  "Well,  things  aren't  all  they 
should  be.  The  tender  we  sent  to  Liverpool  came  out  in  a 
hurry,  as  they  began  to  watch  her,  with  a  mere  bucketful 
of  oil  aboard.  We  must  get  oil  from  somewhere,  or  we 
shaft  all  swing  as  sure  as  we're  doing  twenty-eight  knots 
now.  That's  what  I've  come  to  tell  you  about  to-night. 
The  skipper  can't  stand  it  any  more,  and  is  going  to  run  to 
England  himself,  and  see  what  those  almighty  smart  naval 
people  of  yours  are  doing.  He'll  take  you  with  him,  for  it 
would  be  as  good  as  signing  your  death-warrant  to  leave 
you  here.  Don't  count  upon  it,  though,  for  we  shan't  let 
you  out  of  our  sight,  and  you've  got  to  swear  a  pretty  big 
oath  not  to  give  us  away  before  you  set  foot  on  the 
tender." 

I  was  overjoyed  at  his  saying,  but  I  feared  to  let  him 


RUNNING  NORTH.  237 

see  it,  and  asked  with  nonchalance — "How  do  you  pick 
this  ship  up  again  ?" 

"Oh,  we  fix  a  position,"  he  replied,  "and  they'll  keep  it 
every  day  at  mid-day  after  ten  days.  Meanwhile  we're 
running  north  out  of  the  track  of  the  cruisers." 

"I  can't  quite  understand  why  the  skipper  takes  me 
with  him  this  time,"  I  remarked,  endeavouring  to  draw 
bin:,  but  he  answered — 

"No  more  can  I;  between  ourselves,  he's  been  half- 
daft  ever  since  you  came  aboard.  Do  you  know  that  the 
man's  more  fond  of  you,  in  his  own  way,  than  of  any  liv- 
ing thing?  I  know  it.  I'm  the  only  one  on  the  ship  who 
does  know  it,  and  why  it  is  I  can't  tell  you.  I  didn't 
think  he  was  capable  of  a  human  feeling." 

"It's  very  good  of  him  to  waste  so  much  affection  on 
me,"  said  I,  meaning  to  be  derisive,  but  Osbart  checked 
me. 

"Don't  laugh,"  he  exclaimed;  "you  owe  your  life  to 
him  alone." 


238 
CHAPTER  XXIII. 

I  GO  TO   LONDON. 

IT  \vas  a  week  after  this  conversation  that  Captain  Black, 
Doctor  Osbart,  and  myself  entered  the  7.30  train  from 
Ramsgate;  leaving  in  the  outer  harbour  of  that  still  qua:nt 
town  the  screw  tender,  now  disguised,  with  the  man  John 
and  eight  of  the  most  turbulent  among  the  crew  of  the 
nameless  ship  aboard  her.  We  had  ,come  without  hin- 
drance through  the  crowded  waters  of  the  Channel;  and, 
styling  ourselves  a  Norwegian  whaler  in  ballast,  had 
gained  the  difficult  harbour  without  arousing  suspicion. 
At  the  first,  Black  had  thought  to  leave  me  on  the 
steamer;  but  I,  who  had  an  insatiable  longing  to  set  foot 
ashore  again,  gave  him  solemn  word  that  I  would  not  seek 
to  quit  him,  that  I  would  not  in  any  way  betray  him  while 
the  truce  lasted,  and  that  I  would  return,  wherever  I 
was,  to  the  tender  in  the  harbour  at  the  end  of  a  week. 
He  concluded  the  conditions  with  the  simple  words,  "I'm 
a  big  fool,  but  you  can  come/'  The  others  opened  their 
eyes  and  tapped  their  foreheads,  for  they  believed  him  to 
be  a  maniac. 

I  will  not  pause  to  tell  you  my  own  thoughts  when  I 
set  foot  on  shore  again.  So  great  was  my  amazement  at  it 
all  that  I  went  some  time  without  collecting  myself  to  see 
that  the  invisible  hand  of  God,  which  had  led  me  all 
through,  was  leading  me  again — even,  as  I  hoped,  to  the 
consummation  of  it.  Fearless  in  this  new  thought,  I  sat 
in  the  corner  of  the  first-class  carriage  reserved  for  us  in 
such  a  state  of  exultation  and  of  hope  as  few  men  can  have 


A  STRANGE  CONTRAST.  239 

known.  Before  me  were  the  downs  of  Kent,  the  open  face 
of  an  English  landscape,  the  orchard-bound  homesteads, 
the  verdurous  pasture-land.  The  hedges  were  bedecked 
with  their  late  autumn  flowers;  the  teams  and  smock- 
frocked  men  were  going  home  to  the  gabled  houses,  and 
the  warm-lit  cottages.  There  was  odour  of  the  harvest 
yet  in  the  air,  and  the  distant  chiming  of  bells  from  the 
Gothic  tower  which  rose  above  the  hamlet  and  the  knoll  of 
green.  Each  little  town  we  passed  cast  from  its  windows 
bright  rays  upon  the  tremulous  twilight;  a  great  bar  of 
fiery  redness  cut  the  lower  black  of  the  coming  night, 
showing  me  in  shadow  the  rising  of  land  towards  Chatham 
and  towards  London.  Yet  it  was  the  peace  of  the  scene 
that  came  to  me  with  the  greatest  power ;  the  many  tokens 
of  home — above  all,  the  thought  "I  am  in  England."  I 
could  not  help  but  carry  my  memory  at  this  time  to  the 
last  occasion  when,  with  Roderick  and  Mary,  I  had  come 
to  London  in  the  very  hope  of  getting  tidings  of  this  man 
who  now  sat  with  me  in  a  Kent-Coast  express.  Where 
were  the  others  then — the  girl  wrho  had  been  as  a  sister  to 
me,  and  the  man  as  a  brother ;  how  far  had  the  fear  of  my 
death  made  sad  that  childish  face  which  had  known  such 
little  sadness  in  its  sixteen  years  of  life?  It  was  odd  to 
think  that  Mary  might  be  then  returned  to  London,  and 
that  I,  whom  perchance  she  thought  dead,  was  near  to  her, 
and  yet,  in  a  sense,  more  cut  off  from  her  than  in  the 
grave  itself.  And  Black,  whom  all  the  Governments  were 
pursuing  so  lustily,  was  at  my  side  smoking  a  great  cigar, 
apparently  oblivious  to  all  sense  of  danger  or  of  hazard. 
Life  has  many  contrasts,  but  it  never  had  a  stranger  than 
that,  I  feel  sure. 

It  was  after  ten  g'clock  that  the  ride  terminated ;  and, 


340          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

following  Black  and  Osbart  into  a  closed  carriage  that 
awaited  us,  I  was  driven  from  the  station.  I  should  say 
that  we  drove  for  fifteen  minutes  or  more,  staying  at  last 
before  a  house  in  a  narrow  cul-de-sac,  where  we  went  up- 
stairs to  a  suite  of  rooms  reserved  for  us.  After  an  excel- 
lent supper  Osbart  left  us,  but  Black  took  me  to  a  double- 
bedded  room,  saying  that  he  could  not  let  me  out  of  his 
sight,  and  that  I  must  share  the  sleeping-place  with  him. 

"Boy,  if  you  make  one  attempt  to  play  me  false,"  said 
he,  "I'll  blow  your  brains  out,  though  you  were  my  own 
son." 

Then  he  went  to  bed  at  once  in  a  morose  and  forebod- 
ing mood,  and  I  followed  his  example  quickly. 

On  the  next  morning  Black  quitted  the  house  at  an  early- 
hour  after  breakfast,  but  he  locked  the  door  of  the  room 
upon  Osbart  and  myself.  "Not,"  as  he  said,  "because  I 
can't  take  your  word,  but  because  I  don't  want  anyone 
fooling  in  here."  He  returned  in  the  evening  at  seven 
o'clock,  and  found  me  as  he  had  left  me,  reading  a  later 
novel  of  Paul  Bourget's;  for  Osbart  had  slept  all  the 
afternoon,  and  was  always  complaining  when  on  shore. 

The  view  from  the  window  upon  a  balcony  of  lead  and 
the  back  windows  of  near  houses  was  not  inviting,  and  my 
bond  had  held  me  back  from  all  idle  thoughts  of  eluding 
him.  Life  in  London  under  such  conditions  was  little 
preferable  to  life  on  the  ship,  and  I  had  no  heart  to  hear 
Black's  stories  of  things  doing  in  town ;  or  to  examine  the 
many  purchases  of  miniatures,  and  quaint  old  jewels, 
which  he  had  laid  on  the  dinner-table. 

The  following  day  was  Thursday.  I  shall  always  re- 
member it,  for  I  regard  it  as  one  of  the  most  memorable 
days  in  my  life.  Black  went  out  as  usual  early  in  the 


/  HEAR  THE  HUM  OF  TOWN.         241 

morning;  his  object  being,  as  on  the  preceding  day,  to  find 
out,  if  he  could,  what  the  Admiralty  were  doing  in  view 
of  the  robbery  of  the  Bellonic;  and  Osbart,  refusing  to  get 
up  to  breakfast,  lay  in  bed  reading  the  morning  papers. 
We  had  been  left  thus  about  the  space  of  an  hour  when 
there  came  a  telegram  for  the  doctor,  who  read  it  with  a 
fierce  exclamation. 

"The  Captain  wants  me  urgently,"  said  he,  "and 
there's  nothing  to  do  but  leave  you  here.  We  are  trust- 
ing absolutely  to  you,  now;  but  be  quite  sure,  if  you 
make  half  a  move  to  betray  us,  it  will  be  the  last  you  will 
ever  make.  I  may  return  here  in  ten  minutes.  You  must 
put  up  with  the  indignity  of  being  locked  in ;  and,  dear 
boy,  don't  trouble  yourself  to  look  for  sympathy  in  this 
place,  for  the  man  who  owns  this  house  is  one  of  us,  and, 
if  you  call  out,  you'll  get  a  rap  on  the  head  pretty  quickly." 

He  went  out  jauntily,  and  I  watched  him,  little  think- 
ing that  I  should  never  see  him  again.  When  he  was  gone 
I  sat  in  the  great  armchair,  pulling  it  to  the  window,  and 
taking  up  my  book.  The  sensation  of  being  alone  in  the 
centre  of  London,  and  unable  by  my  oath  to  make  the 
slightest  attempt  to  help  myself,  was  most  curious;  yet 
with  it  all  I  could  not  but  think  that  I  had  touched  the 
.culminating  point,  and  was  near  to  the  ending  of  it  for 
good  or  for  ill.  From  the  window  of  my  room  I  could 
hear  the  hum  of  town,  the  rumbling  of  'buses,  and  the 
subdued  roar  of  London  awake.  I  could  even  see  people 
in  the  houses  at  the  other  side  of  the  leads,  and  it  occurred 
to  me,  What  if  I  open  that  casement  and  call  for  help?  I 
had  given  my  pledge,  it  is  true ;  but  should  a  pledge  bind 
under  such  conditions?  The  sanctity  of  an  oath  is  a  fine 
thing  for  theological  subtlety.  I  had  no  such  subtlety.  I 


THE  SHADOW  Oti  THE 

knew  that  the  argument  in  favour  of  wrong  is  pleasing  to 
the  mental  palate;  and  I  put  it  from  me,  believing  that 
the  breaking  of  my  bond  would  put  me  upon  the  immoral 
plane  of  the  men  to  whom  it  had  been  given. 

I  was  in  the  very  throes  of  such  a  mental  struggle  when 
the  strange  event  of  the  day  happened.  I  chanced  to  look 
up  from  the  book  I  had  been  trying  to  read,  and  I  saw  a 
remarkable  object  upon  the  leads  outside  my  window.  It 
was  the  figure  of  a  man  with  a  collapsible  neck,  a  wonder- 
ful neck,  which  expanded  appallingly,  and  again  was  with- 
drawn into  a  narrow  and  herring-like  chest.  The  fellow 
might  have  been  thirty  years  of  age;  he  might  have  been 
fifty;  there  was  no  hair  on  his  face,  no  colour  in  his  hol- 
low cheeks;  only  a  nervous  movement  of  the  bony  fingers, 
and  that  awful  craning  of  the  collapsible  neck.  I  saw  in 
a  moment  that  he  was  looking  into  my  room ;  and  pres- 
ently, when  he  had  given  me  innumerable  nods  and  winks, 
he  took  a  knife  from  his  pocket,  and  opened  the  catch,  step- 
ping into  the  chamber  with  the  nimble  foot  of  a  goat  upon 
a  crag-path.  Then  he  drew  a  chair  up  to  mine,  and, 
making  more  signs  and  inexplicable  motions  of  the  eye, 
he  slapped  me  upon  the  knee,  and  said — 

"In  the  name  of  the  law!" 

This  was  uttered  with  such  ridiculous  levity  that  I 
laughed  at  him. 

"Yes,"  he  went  on.  unmoved,  "I  take  you  by  surprise: 
but  business,  Mr.  Mark  Strong,"  and  he  became  very 
serious,  while  his  neck  went  out  like  a  yard-measure  and 
he  cast  a  quick  glance  round  the  room. 

"Business,"  he  said,  when  he  had  satisfied  himself  that 
we  were  alone,  "and  in  two  words.  In  the  first  place  I 
have  wired  to  your  friend,  Mr.  Roderick  Stewart,  and  I 


SIX  MEN  IN  THE  STREET.  243 

expect  him  from  Portsmouth  in  a  couple  of  hours;  in  the 
second,  your  other  friend,  the  doctor,  is  under  lock  and 
key,  on  the  trifling  charge  of  murder  in  the  Midlands,  to 
begin  with.  When  we  have  Captain  Black,  the  little 
party  will  be  complete." 

I  looked  at  him,  voiceless  from  the  surprise  of  it.  The 
magical  neck  was  absorbed  in  the  chest  again,  and  he  went 
on — 

".I  needn't  tell  you  who  I  am ;  but  there's  my  card. 
We  have  six  men  in  the  street  outside,  and  another  half- 
dozen  watching  the  leads  here.  You  will  be  sensible 
enough  to  follow  my  instructions  absolutely.  Black,  we 
know,  leaves  the  country  to-night  in  his  steamer — yester- 
day at  Ramsgate ;  to-day  we  do  not  know  where.  The 
probability  is  that  he  will  come  to  fetch  you  at  seven 
o'clock — I  have  frightened  it  all  out  of  the  people  down- 
stairs— if  he  does,  you  will  go  with  him.  Otherwise,  he's 
pretty  sure  to  send  someone  for  you,  and,  as  you  at  the 
moment  are  our  sole  link  between  that  unmitigated 
scoundrel  and  his  arrest,  I  ask  you  to  risk  one  step  more, 
and  return  at  any  rate  as  far  as  the  coast,  that  we  may 
follow  him  for  the  last  time.  You'll  do  that  for  us?" 

I  looked  at  his  card,  whereon  was  the  inscription, 
"Detective-Inspector  King,  Scotland  Yard;"  and  I  said 
at  once — 

"I  shall  not  only  go  to  the  coast,  but  to  his  tender,  for 
I've  given  my  word.  What  you  may  do  in  the  meantime 
is  not  my  affair;  but " 

"Yes,"  he  said,  eagerly,  craning  his  neck  again,  "  'for 
God's  sake  keep  your  eye  on  me,'  that's  what  you  were 
going  to  say.  Well,  we  shall  do  it.  We  owe  it  to  you 
that  we've  got  any  clue  to  the  man,  and  you're  not  likely 


244          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

to  lose  anything  from  the  Government  by  what  you've 
done." 

"I  suppose  he's  made  a  sensation?"  I  asked,  in  sim- 
plicity, and  he  looked  as  a  man  who  has  yesterday's  news. 

"Sensation!  There's  been  no  such  stir  since  the  French 
war.  There  isn't  another  subject  talked  of  in  any  house 
in  Europe — but,  read  that;  and,  whatever  you  do  don't 
make  a  sign  until  we  give  you  the  clue.  It's  not  safe  for 
me  to  stay  here:  he  may  return  any  minute.  I  wish  you 
luck  of  it;  and  it's  ten  thousand  in  my  pocket,  any  way!" 

Detective-Inspector  King  went  as  he  had  come,  craning 
his  neck,  and  passing  noiselessly  over  the  leads ;  but  he  left 
me  a  newspaper,  wherein  there  was  column  after  column 
concerning  the  robbery  of  the  Belhnic,  and  a  dish  worthy 
of  all  journalistic  sensation-mongering.  I  read  this  with 
avidity;  with  sharp  appetite  for  the  extraordinary  hope 
which  had  come  so  curiously  into  my  life.  At  last,  the 
police  were  on  the  trail  of  Captain  Black;  vet  I  saw  at 
once  that,  lacking  my  help,  he  would  elude  them.  It  was 
strange  that,  after  all,  I,  who  had  seemed  to  fail  so  hope- 
lessly in  my  enterprise,  should  at  last  bring  this  giant  In 
crime  to  justice.  For,  if  he  had  not  burdened  himself  with 
me,  he  would  then  have  left  in  the  tender,  and,  once  on  the 
nameless  ship,  would  have  defied  the  world.  But  now 
they  watched  him ;  and  from  the  solitude  of  my  imprison- 
ment I  seemed  to  be  lifted  in  a  moment  to  a  joyous  state 
of  expectation  and  excitement. 

It  was  then  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  I 
heard  the  hour  from  a  neighbouring  church ;  and  I  recalled 
the  detective's  words,  "I  have  telegraphed  for  your  friend, 
Roderick."  If  his  anticipations  were  correct,  I  should  see 
the  one  man  I  had  the  greatest  love  for  within  an  hour. 
Yet,  on  recollection,  I  would  have  had  it  otherwise.  If 


I  RECOGNISE  INSPECTOR  KING.       245 

once  I  looked  on  Mary's  face  again,  I  knew  that  the  task 
would  be  almost  beyond  my  strength ;  and  as  it  happened, 
it  was  well  that  I  had  not  this  burden  to  bear  in  the  last 
hours  of  the  great  struggle.  For  four  o'clock  struck,  and 
five,  and  no  one  came;  and  it  was  half-past  six  when  at 
last  a  man  unlocked  the  door  of  my  room,  and  entered. 
He  was  one  of  Black's  negroes. 

"Sar  will  come  quick,"  said  he,  "and  leave  his  luggage. 
The  master  waits." 

He  gave  me  no  time  for  any  explanations,  but  took  me 
by  the  arm,  and,  passing  from  the  house  by  a  back  door, 
he  went  some  way  down  a  narrow  street,  and  turned  into 
Piccadilly.  There  a  cab  waited  for  us,  and  we  drove 
away,  but  not  before  one,  who  stood  on  the  pavement,  had 
made  a  slight  signal  to  me,  and  called  another  cab. 

In  him  I  recognised  Detective-Inspector  King,  and  I 
knew  that  we  were  followed. 


246 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

WE  drove  rapidly,  passing  the  Criterion,  so  into  the 
Strand,  and  along  the  Thames  Embankment.  Thence,  we 
went  through  Queen  Victoria  Street,  past  the  Mansion 
House,  and  to  Fenchurch  Street  Station,  where  we  took 
a  train  for  Tilbury. 

The  journey  was  accomplished  in  something  under  an 
hour;  and  when  we  alighted  and  got  upon  the  bank  of  the 
river,  I  saw  a  steam-launch  with  the  man  John  in  the 
bows  of  her.  I  thought  it  strange  that  there  was  no  sign 
of  any  watchers  at  this  place;  but  I  entered  the  launch 
without  a  word,  and  we  started  immediately,  going  at  a 
great  pace  towards  Sheerness;  and  reached  the  Nore  after 
some  buffet  with  the  seas  in  the  open.  At  this  point  we 
sighted  the  tender,  and  went  aboard  her,  while  they 
hauled  up  the  launch,  when  we  made  full  speed  towards 
the  North  Foreland. 

It  was  then  quite  dark,  with  a  stiff  breeze  blowing  right 
abaft.  The  night,  a  moonless  and  very  black  one,  fa- 
voured us  altogether  for  the  run  which,  I  did  not  doubt, 
we  had  to  make  against  some  Government  vessel  that 
would  follow  us.  But  I  found  to  my  surprise  that  the 
men  on  the  ship  knew  nothing  of  the  dangerous  position  in 
which  they  were,  and  worked  with  a  calm  disregard  to 
the  blackness  of  the  night,  and  to  the  hazard  of  the  mo- 
ment. Black  I  did  not  meet,  for  they  put  me  into  a  cabin 
aft,  of  which  I  was  the  sole  occupant ;  and,  being  ordered 


WE  SIGHT  THE  NORTH  FORELAND    247 

by  the  man  John,  who  was  half-drunk  and  very  threaten- 
ing, to  get  below,  I  turned  in  shortly  after  coming  aboard, 
and  lay  down  to  reckon  with  the  strange  probabilities  of 
the  hour. 

One  thing  was  very  evident.  Black  had  made  a  colos- 
sal mistake,  from  his  point  of  view,  in  setting  foot  in 
England ;  but  the  crowning  blunder  of  his  life  was  that 
fatal  act  of  folly  by  which  he  had  sought  to  shield  me 
from  the  men.  How  long  the  Government  had  been 
watching  for  him,  or  for  tidings  of  me,  I  could  not  tell, 
but  it  must  have  been  since  Roderick  had  reached  New 
York,  and  had  told  all  he  knew  of  the  ship  of  mystery 
and  of  her  owner. 

Now  the  object  of  letting  Black  reach  his  vessel  again 
was  as  clear  as  daylight ;  it  was  not  so  much  the  man  as 
his  ship  which  they  wished  to  take,  and,  by  following  him 
to  the  Atlantic,  they  were  giving  him  rope  to  hang  himself. 

But  were  we  followed  ?  I  had  seen  nothing  to  lead  me 
to  that  conclusion  as  I  came  down  the  Thames ;  and  now, 
favoured  by  an  intensely  dark  night,  we  promised,  if  noth- 
ing should  intervene,  to  gain  the  Atlantic  in  two  days,  and 
to  be  aboard  that  strange  citadel  which  was  our  stronghold 
against  the  nations. 

This  thought  troubled  me  very  much,  so  much  that 
sleep  was  out  of  the  question,  and  I  went  above  again,  un- 
deterred by  the  probability  of  a  difference  with  the  men. 
The  night  was  somewhat  clearer  when  I  reached  the  poop, 
and  I  could  make  out  the  fine  flood  of  light  that  came 
from  the  North  Foreland ;  while  it  was  evident  that  we 
had  taken  the  outer  passage  and  should  pass  on  the  French 
side  of  the  Goodwins.  There  were  no  men  aft  as  I  took 
my  stand  by  the  second  wheel,  but  I  heard  the  bawl  of  the 
watch  forward,  and  a  man  who  wore  oilskins  was  pacing 


248          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

the  bridge.  I  was  able,  therefore,  to  get  a  good  notion  of 
all  things  about  us ;  and  when  the  moon  showed  later,  the 
Channel  seemed  full  of  ships.  Away  towards  the  Fore- 
land I  made  out  a  fleet  of  French  luggers  standing  in 
close  to  shore;  there  were  two  or  three  colliers  returning 
to  the  Thames  on  our  port  bow,  and  some  English  smacks 
lying-to  right  ahead  of  us,  the  moon  showing  them  brightly 
in  a  lake  of  light,  their  men  busy  at  the  nets,  or  huddled 
at  the  tiller  as  the  smacks  rolled  to  a  choppy  sea.  But 
there  was  no  sign  of  any  war-ship  pursuing;  no  indication 
whatever  that  the  tender,  then  steaming  at  thirteen  knots 
towards  Dover,  was  watched  or  observed  by  any  living 
being. 

I  had  just  satisfied  myself  of  this,  and  had  become  de- 
pressed accordingly,  when  I  heard  a  step  behind  me.  I 
turned  round  quickly,  to  find  that  the  man  John  had  come 
up  to  the  poop.  He  was  in  his  oilskins,  for  there  was 
some  sea  shipped  for'ard,  and  he  greeted  me  with  a  savage 
ferocity  which  was  meant  to  be  pleasant. 

"Keeping  a  watch  on  your  own  hook,  my  fine  gentle- 
man, eh?"  said  he;  "and  after  my  orders  for  you  to  be 
abed — that's  pretty  discipline,  I  reckon." 

I  made  no  sort  of  answer,  but  turned  my  back  on  him, 
and  continued  to  watch  the  twinkling  lights  of  Deal.  This 
appeared  to  irritate  him,  for  he  put  his  hand  on  my  shoul- 
der roughly  and  hissed  savagely — 

"Oh,  I  guess;  you've  got  your  fine  coat,  ain't  you,  and 
your  pretty  airs.  Darn  me  if  I  don't  take  you  down  a 
pep,  skipper  or  no  skipper!" 

His  great  hand  was  almost  on  my  throat,  and  he  shook 
me  with  fearful  grip,  so  that  I  hit  him  with  my  right  hand 
just  below  his  heart,  and  bent  him  double  like  a  reed.  His 
terrible  gasps  for  breath  were  so  alarming  that  I  thought 


JOHN  DRAWS  HIS  KNIFE.  249 

at  first  he  would  never  recover  his  wind ;  but  vvhen  he  did 
he  drew  his  knife,  and  raised  his  arm  to  take  aim  at  my 
throat.  It  is  probable  that  my  life  had  been  ended  there 
and  then  had  not  another  watched  the  scene  and  suddenly 
clutched  the  extended  wrist.  Captain  Black  had  come  to 
us  with  noiseless  step;  and  he  gave  me  then  my  first 
knowledge  of  his  prodigious  physical  strength,  for  he  held 
John's  arm  as  in  a  vise,  and,  giving  the  ruffian's  wrist  a 
peculiar  turn,  he  sent  the  knife  flying  in  the  air,  and  it 
struck  quivering  in  the  deck  twenty  feet  from  where  we 
stood. 

"You  long-jawed  bully,  what  d'ye  mean  by  that?"  cried 
the  skipper,  white  with  anger;  and  then  he  twisted  the 
fellow's  arm  until  I  thought  he  would  have  broken  it. 
Nor  did  he  let  him  go  until  he  had  kicked  him  the  length 
of  the  poop,  and  tumbled  him,  torn  and  bleeding,  upon  the 
main  hatch  below. 

"Lay  your  fingers  on  the  boy  again,  and  I'll  give  you 
six  dozen,"  he  said  quietly ;  and  then  he  came  to  my  side, 
and  he  stood  for  a  long  while  leaning  on  the  bulwarks  and 
gazing  over  towards  the  receding  shore.  He  spoke  to  me 
at  last,  but  in  a  more  gentle  tone  than  I  had  ever  heard 
from  him — indeed,  there  was  almost  kindliness  in  his 
voice. 

"Do  you  make  out  anything  of  a  big  ship  yonder?"  he 
asked,  pointing  almost  abaft. 

"I  see  nothing  but  the  hull  of  a  collier,"  said  I. 

"Then  it's  my  sight  that's  plaguing  me  again,"  and  he 
continued  to  look  as  though  he  had  some  great  purpose  in 
satisfying  himself,  while  from  the  fo'castle  there  came 
shouts  of  laughter  and  singing.  When  he  heard  this  he 
spoke  again,  but  almost  to 


250  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEJ. 

''Shout  away,  you  scum,"  he  muttered;  ''shout  while 
you  can.  It'll  be  a  different  tune  to-morrow." 

I  was  leaning  then  on  the  bulwarks  almost  at  his  side, 
and  presently  he  addressed  himself  directly  to  me,  and 
earnestly. 

"We  had  a  narrow  shave  to-night.  It's  put  me  out  to 
leave  the  doctor,  for  he  was  the  best  of  them — one  of  the 
only  men  that  I  could  reckon  on.  If  it  hadn't  been  for 
him  and  the  Irishman,  this  lot  would  have  swung  long 
ago — maybe  they'll  swing  now.  The  hounds  have  got  the 
scent;  and,  God  knows,  they  wiil  follow  it!  It's  lucky 
for  some  of  them  that  I  had  twenty  pairs  of  eyes  open  for 
me  in  London,  and  knew  the  Government's  game  in  time 
to  get  this  tender  out  of  Ramsgate;  but  you  mark  me, 
boy,  there's  trouble  coming,  and  thick.  I've  gone  out 
without  a  gallon  of  oil  again,  and  by-and-by  we're  goin-g 
to  run  for  our  necks,  every  man  of  us." 

''What  makes  you  think  that?"  I  asked. 

"What  makes  rue  think  that? — why,  my  senses. 
They'll  follow  us  from  some  port  here,  as  sure  as  the 
wind's  rising;  maybe  they'll  let  us  get  aboard  the  ship, 
and  then  that'll  be  the  beginning  of  it.  But  if  we  only 
hold  out  with  the  oil,  then  let  'em  take  care  of  them- 
selves  " 

"And  if  not?" 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  was  silent ;  but  anon  he 
asked  again  what  I  thought  of  a  long,  rakish-looking 
steamer  lying  some  miles  away  on  the  starboard  quarter, 
and  when  I  had  satisfied  him  he  said — 

"Come  downstairs  and  get  some  wine  in  you,  boy;" 
and  I  went  below  to  his  small  and  not  very  elegant  cabin, 
where  he  put  champagne  and  glasses  on  the  table. 


THREE  MASTS  ON  THE  PORT  QUARTER.  251 

"Let's  drink  against  the  thirst  we'll  have  to-morrow," 
cried  he,  getting  quite  jovial,  and  pouring  the  Pommery 
down  his  throat  as  though  it  had  been  beer.  "This  is  an 
occasion  such  as  we  shan't  often  know — the  old  ship 
against  Europe,  and  one  man  against  the  lot  of  them! 
Why,  lad,  if  it  wasn't  for  the  thought  of  the  oil,  I'd  get 
up  and  dance !  The  lubbers  could  no  more  lay  a  finger  on 
me,  given  fair  fight,  than  they  could  touch  the  moon. 
You  see,  it's  just  the  oil  that  Karl's  feared  all  along; 
drive  by  gas,  and  you  want  twenty  times  the  grease  in 
your  cylinders  that  you'll  ever  need  in  a  steam-ship.  If 
there  hadn't  been  that  break-up  north,  we'd  never  have 
been  in  this  hole;  but  that's  one  of  the  risks  of  a  game 
like  this,  and  I'll  play  my  hand  out." 

He  went  on  to  talk  of  many  other  things,  but  as  he  did 
not  speak  of  his  own  past,  or  of  the  ship,  I  began  to  nod 
with  sleep ;  and  presently  I  found  him  covering  me  up 
with  a  rug  and  turning  out  the  lamp.  I  was  dead  worn- 
out  then,  and  must  have  slept  twelve  hours  at  the  least, 
for  it  was  afternoon  when  I  awoke,  and  the  sun  streamed 
in  through  the  skylight  upon  a  table  whereon  dinner  was 
set.  But  Black  was  not  in  the  cabin,  and  I  went  above  to 
him  on  the  bridge,  which  he  paced  with  a  restless  step  and 
a  betraying  haste.  There  was  no  land  then  to  be  seen ;  but 
the  clear  play  of  sparkling  waves  shone  away  to  the  hori- 
zon over  a  tumbling  sea,  upon  which  were  a  few  ships. 
Upon  one  of  these  he  constantly  turned  his  glass ;  she  was 
a  long  screw  steamer,  showing  two  funnels  and  three 
masts,  away  some  miles  on  the  port  quarter,  and  I  saw  at 
once  that  from  this  ship  the  Captain  got  all  his  fear. 

"Do  you  make  her  out?"  he  said  in  a  big  whisper  di- 
rectly I  came  up  to  him,  and  then,  hushing  me,  he  added — 


252  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Keep  your  tongue  still,  and  say  nothing.  That's  a 
British  cruiser  in  passenger  paint.  She's  come  out  from 
Southampton." 

This  was  about  the  very  best  bit  of  news  he  could  have 
given  me ;  but  I  did  not  let  him  see  that  I  thought  so,  for 
I  had  eyes  only  for  the  ship  in  our  wake.  She  was  a  long 
boat  of  the  Northumberland  class;  but  there  was  nothing 
whatever  about  her  to  be*«-ay  her  disguise,  since  she  had  all 
the  look  of  an  Orient,  or  a  P.  and  O.  liner,  and  was  too 
far  away  from  us  to  permit  a  reading  of  her  flag.  The 
men  evidently  had  not  seen  her,  or  took  no  notice  of  her 
if  they  had ;  but  John  upon  the  bridge  followed  the  move- 
ments of  Black  with  curiosity,  and  once  or  twice  turned 
his  own  glass  on  the  black  hull  just  visible  above  the 
horizon.  He  had  forgotten  the  episode  of  the  previous 
night — when,  undoubtedly,  he  was  full  of  drink — and  was 
almost  as  troubled  as  the  skipper. 

"What's  he  up  to?"  he  asked  me  in  a  whisper,  as  Black 
kept  turning  his  glass  towards  the  hull  of  the  other  ship. 
"Did  he  get  any  liquor  in  him  last  night?  I  never  saw 
him  this  way  before." 

And  again,  after  a  pause — 

"Have  you  got  any  eyes  for  that  ship?  What's  he 
fixing  her  like  that  for?  She's  no  more  than  an  Orient 
boat  by  her  jib,  and  if  she  lays  on  her  course  we'll  make  it 
warm  for  her  outside." 

Black  heard  his  last  words,  and  turned  round  upon  him 
savagely — 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "it'll  be  warm  enough  out  there  for 
them  as  lives  as  well  as  for  the  dead.  Ring  down  for 
more  firing;  what's  the  lubber  at? — he'i  not  giving  her 
thirteen  knots." 


TflE  FIRING  OF  A  GUN.  255 

f?y-and-by  all  the  crew  began  to  observe  Black's  anxiety 
and  to  crowd  to  the  starboard  side;  but  he  told  them  noth- 
ing, although  he  never  left  the  bridge,  and  cursed  fiercely 
whenever  the  speed  of  the  tender  slacked  at  all.  It  was 
somewhat  perplexing  to  me  to  observe  that,  while  the 
great  ship  was  undoubtedly  following  us,  she  did  not  gain 
a  yard  upon  us.  During  the  whole  of  that  long  after- 
noon, and  through  the  watches  of  the  early  night,  when 
I  remained  upon  the  bridge  with  Black,  we  kept  our  rela- 
tive distances;  but,  do  all  we  could,  the  other  would  not 
be  shaken  off;  and  when,  after  a  few  hours'  sleep,  J  came 
on  deck  at  the  dawn  of  the  second  day,  she  was  still  on  our 
quarter,  following  like  the  vulture  follows  the  living  man 
whose  hours  are  numbered. 

"There's  no  humbug  about  her  game,"  cried  Black, 
whose  face  was  lined  with  the  furrows  of  anxiety  and  pale 
with  long  watching;  "she  means  to  take  us  on  the  open 
sea,  and  she's  welcome  to  the  course.  If  I  don't  riddle 
her  like  a  sieve,  stretch  me!" 

This  strarjge  pursuit  lasted  three  days  and  into  the 
third  night;  when  I  was  awakened  from  a  snatch  of  sleep 
by  the  firing  of  a  gun  above  my  head.  I  dressed  hurriedly 
and  got  on  deck,  where  my  eyes  were  almost  blinded  by  a 
great  volume  of  light  which  spread  over  the  sea  from  a 
point  some  two  miles  away  on  our  starboard  bow.  We 
had  been  in  the  Atlantic  then  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
I  did  not  doubt  for  a  moment  that  we  had  reached  the 
nameless  ship.  Had  there  been  any  uncertainty,  the  wild 
joy  of  the  men  would  have  banished  it.  From  windlass 
to  wheel  our  decks  presented  a  scene  of  wild  excitement. 
Above  all  the  shouting,  the  raucous  laughter,  and  the 
threats  against  the  cruiser — whose  lights  showed  them  less 
than  a  mile  away — I  heard  the  voice  of  Blacjc,  singing: 


254  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Hands,  stand  by  to  lower  boats!"  and  the  yelping  of 
"Roaring  John."  It  seemed  at  that  moment  that  we 
should  gain  the  impregnable  citadel  without  suffering  one 
shot,  and  while  I  should  have  been  happier  if  the  attack 
had  been  upon  the  tender,  and  my  chances  of  gaining  the 
Government  ship  thus  more  sure,  I  was  in  a  measure  car- 
ried away  by  the  excitement  of  the  position,  and  I  verily 
believe  that  I  chewed  with  the  others. 

At  that  moment  the  cruiser  showed  her  teeth.  Sud- 
denly there  was  a  rush  of  flame  from  her  bows,  and  a 
shell  hissed  above  us — the  first  sign  of  her  attempt  to  stop 
us  joining  our  own  ship.  The  poor  shooting  excited  only 
the  derision  of  the  men,  who  set  up  their  wild  "halloas!" 
at  it;  and  again,  when  a  second  shot  struck  the  aft  mast 
and  shivered  it,  they  were  provoked  to  boisterous  merri- 
ment. But  we  could  make  no  reply,  and  those  on  the 
nameless  ship  could  not  fire,  for  we  lay  right  between  them 
and  the  other. 

"Hands,  lower  boats!"  yelled  Black  at  this  moment, 
and  then,  leaving  no  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  men  in  the 
steamer,  ht  led  the  way  to  the  launch. 

We  were  now  no  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
safety,  but  the  run  was  full  of  peril,  and,  as  the  launch 
stood  out,  the  nameless  ship  of  a  sudden  shut  off  her  light, 
if  possible  to  shield  us  in  the  dark.  But  the  pursuer  in- 
stantly flooded  us  with  her  own  arc,  and,  following  it  with 
quick  shots,  she  hit  the  jolly-boat  at  the  third.  Of  the 
eight  men  there,  only  two  rose  when  the  hull  had  disap- 
peared. 

"Fire  away,  by  thunder!''  cried  Black,  shaking  his  fist, 
and  mad  with  passion;  "and  get  your  hands  in:  you'll 
want  all  the  bark  you've  got  just  now." 

But  we  had  hauled  the  men  aboard  as  he  spoke,  and, 


A  GLORIOUS  MOMENT.  255 

though  two  shells  foamed  in  the  sea  and  wetted  us  .to  the 
skin  in  the  passage,  we  were  at  the  ladder  of  the  nameless 
ship  without  other  harm,  and  with  fierce  shouts  the  men 
gained  the  decks. 

For  them  it  was  a  glorious  moment.  They  had  weath- 
ered the  perils  of  a  city,  and  stood  where  they  could  best 
face  the  crisis  of  the  pursuit.  It  was  a  spectacle  to  move 
the  most  stolid  apathy:  the  sight  of  a  couple  of  hundred 
demoniacal  figures  lighted  by  the  great  white  wave  of  light 
from  the  enemy's  ship,  their  faces  upturned  as  they  waited 
Black's  orders,  their  hands  flourishing  knives  and  cut- 
lasses, their  hunger  for  the  contest  betrayed  in  every  ges- 
ture. I  stood  upon  the  gallery  high  above  the  seas,  and 
looked  down  upon  the  motley  company,  or  along  the  space 
of  the  hazy  arc  to  the  other  vessel  and  I  asked  myself 
again  and  again,  What  if  we  shall  win — what  if  this  des^ 
perate  adventurer  shall  again  outwit  those  who  have  coped 
with  him,  and  hold  his  mastery  of  the  sea? 

Nor  did  it  seem  so  improbable  that  he  would.  Those 
upon  the  Government  cruiser  betrayed  their  uneasiness 
every  moment  by  casting  the  beams  of  tkeir  search-light  on 
every  point  of  the  horizon ;  but  their  signal  was  unan- 
swered, no  assuring  rays  shone  out  in  the  distant  blackness 
of  the  night.  We  two  were  alone  upon  the  Atlantic,  there 
to  fight  the  duel  of  the  nations;  and  I  confess  that  in  the 
unparalleled  excitement  of  the  moment  I  rejoiced  that  it 
was  so ;  I  hoped,  even,  that  the  nameless  ship  would  carry 
the  hour,  so  much  had  she  fascinated  me,  so  astounding 
were  her  achievements. 

This  truly  was  the  critical  moment  in  Black's  career. 
He  stepped  on  the  bridge  to  find  Karl  wringing  his  hands, 
and  "Four-Eyes"  was  no  less  uneasy. 


256  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Faith,  sorr,"  said  he,  as  soon  as  \ve  hdd  corrie  aboard, 
"it's  bad  times  intoirely  if  ye've  no  oil — we've  been  work- 
ihg  two  engines  fbr  three  days,  #hd  we'll  be  sore  put  to 
ut  to  kape  the  third  going,  if  ye  can't  mend  us." 

Karl  emphasized  the  words  with  stamps  and  tears  and 
frantic  gesticulation — not  lost  upon  Black,  who  advanced 
to  the  front  of  th^bridge,  and  called  for  silence  in  a  voice 
that  would  have  split  a  berg.  A  deathlike  stillness  suc- 
ceeded; you  could  hear  the  wash  of  the  waves  and  the 
moaning  of  the  wind:  two  hundred  upturned  faces  shone 
ghastly  white  under  the  spreading  beams  which  the 
cruiser's  lantern  cast  upon  them. 

"Boys,"  cried  Black,  "yonder's  a  Government  ship. 
You  know  me,  that  I  don't  run  after  war-scum  every  day, 
for  that's  not  my  business.  But  we're  short  of  oil,  and  the 
cylinders  are  heating.  If  we  don't  get  it  in  twenty-four 
hours,  there'll  be  devil's  work,  and  we  shan't  do  it.  Boys, 
it's  swing  or  take  that  ship  and  the  oil  aboard  her — 
wh'ich'll  you  have?" 

There  was  no  doubt  about  their  answer — there  could  be 
none.  In  one  way  it  was  almost  as  if  the  cruiser  herself 
pave  reply,  for  there  was  the  roar  of  a  great  gun  when 
Black  had  finished  speaking,  and  a  shot  hissed  from  above 
out  poop  and  burst  in  the  seas  beyond  us.  A  mighty  shout 
followed,  but  was  converted  instantly  into  a  cry  of  warn- 
ing, as  the  forward  hands  sang  dut — 

"Look  out  aft — the  torpjedo!"  and  other  hands  took 
up  the  cry,  yelling  "The  torpedo!  The  torpedo!" 

The  tiny  line  of  foam  was  just  visible  for  a  second  in 
the  way  of  the  light ;  but,  the  moment  the  cruiser  had  shot 
it  from  her  tube,  she  extinguished  her  arc,  leaving  us  to 
light  the  waters  with  our  own.  There  was  no  difficulty 


THE  HELM  GOES  QFER.  257 

whatever  in  following  the  line  of  the  deadly  message,  and 
for  a  moment  every  heart,  I  doubt  not,  almost  stood  still. 

"Full  speed  astern!"  roared  Black,  forgetting  himself, 
but  instantly  ringing  the  bell,  and  the  nameless  ship  moved 
backwards,  faster  and  yet  faster.  But  the  black  death- 
bearer  followed  her,  as  a  shark  follows  a  death-ship;  we 
seemed  even  to  have  backed  into  its  course — it  came  on  as 
though  to  strike  us  full  amidships. 

The  excitement  was  almost  more  than  I  could  bear;  I 
turned  away,  waiting  for  the  tremendous  concussion;  I 
heard  awful  curses  from  the  men,  the  cowardly  shouting 
of  " Roaring  John,"  the  blasphemies  of  ''Dick  the  Ranter." 
I  knew  that  Black  alone  was  calm ;  and  at  the  last  I  fixed 
my  eyes  on  him  when  the  head  of  the  torpedo's  foam  was 
not  thirty  yards  away  from  us.  In  that  supreme  moment 
the  power  of  the  man  rose  to  a  great  height.  He  grasped 
the  situation  with  the  calmness  of  one  thinking  in  bed; 
and  waiting  motionless  for  some  seconds,  which  were  sec- 
onds almost  of  agony  to  the  rest  of  us,  he  cried  of  a 
sudden — 

"Hard  a-starboard!"  and  the  helm  wrent  over  with  a 
run. 

The  movement  was  altogether  superb.  The  great  ship 
swung  around  with  a  majestic  sweep,  an4  as  we  waited 
breathlessly,  the  torpedo  passed  right  under  ou.r  bow,  miss- 
ing the  ram  by  a  hair's-breadth.  The  reaction  was  nigh 
intolerable ;  the  men  waited  for  some  seconds  silent  as 
the  voiceless ;  then  their  cheers  rang  away  over  the  seas 
in  a  great  volume  of  sound,  which  must  have  re-echoed 
down  in  the  caverns  of  the  Atlantic. 

"You,  Dick,"  ordered  Black,  "return  the  lubbers  that, 
or  I'll  whip  you;"  and  Dick,  who  had  got  his  wits  back, 
replied — 


258  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  'SEA. 

"Skipper,  if  I  dinna  dive  into  their  internals,  gie  me 
sax  dozen." 

"Hands  to  quarters,"  continued  the  skipper;  "let  no 
man  show  himself  till  I  call,  then  him  as  doesn't  fight  for 
all  he's  worth,  let  him  prepare  to  swing." 

With  this  there  fell  a  great  busyness,  the  men  going, 
some  to  the  turrets,  some  to  the  magazines  below. 

Black  had  not  noticed  me  during  the  episode  of  the 
torpedo,  but  he  turned  round  now,  and,  seeing  that  I  stood 
near  him,  he  beckoned  me  into  the  conning-tower  with 
him.  It  was  a  chamber  lined  with  steel  with  a  small 
glass  for  the  look-out,  and  electric  knobs  which  allowed 
communication  with  the  engine-rooms,  the  wheel,  the  tur- 
rets, and  the  magazines.  From  that  pinnacle  of  metal  you 
could  navigate  the  ship,  and  there  Black  fought  the  battle 
of  that  night  and  of  the  days  following.  And  as  I  stood 
at  his  side  I  learned  from  his  running  comments  much  of 
the  course  of  the  fight. 

"Boy,"  he  said,  "what  I'm  worth  I'm  going  to  show 
this  night;  and,  as  your  eyes  are  younger  than  mine,  I'm 
going  to  borrow  the  loan  of  them.  That  hen-coop  yonder 
with  the  Government  flag  on  her  isn't  far  from  company, 
you  may  be  pretty  sure.  She's  help  near,  and  from  that 
help  I'm  going  to  cut  her  off,  and  quick.  Take  your 
stand  here  by  me,  and  watch  the  seas  while  I  manage  the 
light." 

He  had  his  hand  on  a  little  tap  which  enabled  him  to 
throw  his  arc  upon  every  point  of  the  horizon,  and,  as  the 
light  travelled,  he  asked  me — 

"Do  you  make  out  anything?  Is  there  more  of  'em  at 
her  heels?" 

"Nothing  that  I  can  see;  she  seems  alone." 


THE  THUNDER  OF  THE  GUN.         259 

"Then  God  help  her,  though  we're  only  running  two 
engines.  Now  watch  the  shot." 

The  focus  was  then  upon  the  cruiser,  whose  own  light 
kept  playing  upon  the  horizon  as  though  searching  for  a 
convoy  she  awaited.  But  when  the  conning-tower  shook 
with  the  thunder  of  our  fore  gun,  the  other  reeled,  and 
her  arc-light  went  out  with  a  great  flash. 

" That's  a  hit,"  I  exclaimed,  with  ridiculous  want  ot 
control;  "I  believe  you've  struck  her  abaft  the  funnel. 
Yes,  I  can  see  the  list  on  her;  you've  hit  her  clean." 

His  face  never  moved  at  the  intelligence,  but  he  rang 
the  order,  "Hard  to  port!"  and  we  weathered  round, 
showing  our  aft  turret  to  the  enemy,  whose  bark  for  the 
moment  was  stilled. 

"Watch  again,"  said  Black,  as  he  rang  to  the  turret 
chamber,  and  the  aft  gun  roared ;  but  I  could  not  see  that 
the  shot  struck,  and  I  told  him  so. 

"I'll  give  that  parson  a  dozen  if  he  does  that  again," 
he  remarked,  unmoved  by  the  crash  of  a  shot  which  struck 
us  right  under  our  turret.  Then  he  took  a  cigar,  and 
spoke  between  his  teeth  when  he  had  lighted  it — 

"There's  twelve  inches  of  steel  there,"  he  said  with  a 
laugh;  "let  'em  knock  on  it  and  welcome.  Don't  you 
smoke? — I  always  do;  it  keeps  my  head  clear." 

Two  more  shots,  one  right  above  the  engine-room  and 
the  second  at  the  ram,  answered  his  levity. 

"Come  on,  you  devils!"  he  blurted  out  with  glee. 
"Come  in  and  dance,  by  thunder,  while  I  play  ye  the  tune! 
Now  hearken  to  it." 

We  came  up  again,  and  fired  at  the  cruiser,  hitting  her 
right  under  the  funnel,  and  a  second  time  near  her  fore 
gun,  so  that  you  could  see  her  reel  and  shiver  even  under 
the  rays  of  the  search-light.  Nor  did  she  answer  our  firing, 


THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

but  rolled  to  the  swell  apparently  out  of  action.  All  this 
I  could  see,  and  I  answered  the  skipper's  hurried  and 
anxious  questions  as  every  fresh  movement  was  visible. 

"What's  she  doing,  eh?"  he  asked.  "Did  that  stop 
her?  Is  she  coaling  up,  or  does  she  signal?  Lord,  if  I 
had  the  oil,  I'd  sweep  the  sea  from  New  York  to  Queens- 
town.  What  is  it,  boy? — why  don't  you  answer  me?" 

"You  don't  give  me  time;  but  I  can  see  now.  She's 
coaling  up,  and  there  are  men  forward  working  with 
oars." 

"Do  you  say  that?"  he  said,  pushing  me  away  from  the 
glass.  "Do  you  say  that  she's  coaling?  By  thunder, 
you're  right!  We'll  have  her  oil  yet;  and  then  let  them 
as  come  after  me  look  to  themselves!" 

As  he  said  the  last  word  he  stepped  from  the  corining- 
tower  to  the  bridge,  and  I  followed  him. 

There,  at  a  distance  of  a  third  of  a  mile  away  on  the 
starboard  bow,  \vas  the  crippled  cruiser,  helpless  by  her 
look;  and  our  light  fell  full  upon  her,  showing  men  in 
great  activity  on  her  decks,  and  others  running  forward, 
as  though  there  were  danger  also  in  the  fo'castle.  The 
flight  around  us  was  very  dark,  and  the  huge,  heaving 
swell  shone  black  as  pitch  in  mountains  and  cavities  below 
the  gallery.  We  two  were  alone  there  upon  the  ocean, 
finishing  that  terrible  duel — if,  indeed,  the  end  had  not 
come,  as  I  thought  from  the  silence  of  the  other. 

"Skipper,  are  you  going  aboard  her  now?"  asked  the 
matt  "Roarihg  John,"  who  came  to  iis  on  the  bridge. 
"She's  done  by  her  looks,  and  you'll  get  no  oil  if  ye  delay. 
Karl  there,  he  ain't  as  comfortable  as  if  he  were  in  his 
bed." 

The  little  German  was  very  far  from  it.  He  was 
almost  desperate  when  minute  by  minute  his  stock  of  oil 


"'NUMBER  TWO!"  261 

grew  less;  and  he  ran  from  one  to  the  other  as  though 
we  had  grease  in  our  pockets,  and  could  give  it  to  him. 

Black  took  due  riotice,  but  did  riot  lose  his  calm.  His 
cigar  was  now  glowing  red,  and  he  took  it  often  from  his 
mouth,  looking  at  the  lighted  end  of  it  as  a  man  does  who 
is  thinking  quickly. 

"You're  quite  sure  she's  done,  John?"  he  asked,  turn- 
ing to  the  big  man. 

"She's  done,  I  guess,  or  why  don't  she  spit?  If  she's 
got  another  kick  in  her,  send  me  to  the  devil!" 

The  words  had  scarce  l&ft  his  lips  when  the  cruiser's 
aft  guns  thundered  out  almost  together,  and  one  shell 
passed  through  the  very  centre  of  our  group.  It  cut  the 
man  John  in  half  as  he  might  have  been  cut  by  a  sword, 
and  his  blood  and  flesh  splashed  us,  while  the  other  half  of 
him  stood  up  like  a  bust  upon  the  deck,  and  during  one 
horrible  moment  his  arms  moved  wildly,  and  there  was  a 
horrid  quivering  of  the  muscles  of  his  face.  The  second 
shot  struck  the  roof  of  the  turret  obliquely,  and  glanced 
from  it  into  the  sea.  The  destruction  seemed  to  move 
Black  no  more  than  a  rain  shower.  He  simply  cried: 
"All  hands  to  cover;  I'm  going  to  give  'em  a  taste  of  the 
machine-guns;"  and  we  re-entered  the  conning-tower. 
Then,  as  we  began  to  move  again,  I  swept  the  horizon 
with  our  light;  but  this  time,  far  away  over  the  black 
waste  of  water,  the  signal  was  answered. 

"Number  two!"  said  Black  quite  calmly,  when  I  told 
him,  "and  this  time  a  battle-ship.  Well,  boy,  if  we  don't 
take  that  oil  yonder  in  ten  minutes  you  may  say  your 
prayers." 


262 
CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  DUMB  MAN  SPEAKS. 

HE  put  up  the  helm  as  he  spoke,  and  brought  our  head 
round  so  that  we  were  in  a  position  to  have  rammed  the 
cruiser  had  we  chosen.  This  was  not  Black's  object.  He 
desired  first  to  cripple  her  completely,  then  to  finish  her 
with  the  Maxim  guns. 

"Now,  let's  see  what  that  Scotsman's  worth,"  he  cried, 
as  he  laid  down  his  cigar,  and  spoke  through  one  of  the 
tubes.  Almost  with  his  words  the  tower  shook  with  the 
thunder,  the  twenty-nine  ton  gun  in  the  fore  turret 
belched  forth  flame,  and  the  hissing  shell  struck  the 
steamer  over  her  very  magazine.  We  waited  for  a  re- 
sponse, but  none  came.  She  had  received  the  shot,  as  it 
proved,  right  on  her  great  gun;  and  the  weapon  lay 
shivered  and  useless,  cast  quite  free  from  its  carriage, 
while  dead  men  were  around  it  in  heaps. 

"Dick's  earned  his  dinner,"  said  Black,  taking  up  his 
cigar  again,  as  he  rang  twice,  and  the  men  rushed  to  the 
small  guns,  and  prepared  to  get  them  into  action.  "We'll 
give  'em  a  little  hail  this  time,  for  they  haven't  the  cover 
we  have.  If  we  don't  get  aboard  before  the  other  comes 
up,  they  get  the  trick." 

The  nameless  ship  bounded  forward  into  the  night  as  he 
spoke,  and,  soon  coming  up  with  the  helm  a-starboard,  she 
was  not  fifty  yards  away  from  her  long  opponent  when 
the  deadly  steel  storm  began  its  havoc.  For  our  part,  the 
men  had  cover  of  a  sort  in  the  fore-top,  and  there  were 
steel  screens  round  the  deck-guns;  but  when  the  cruiser 


BLACK  TAKES  A  SIGHT.  263 

replied  with  her  own  small  arms  many  fell ;  and  groans, 
and  shrieks,  and  curses  rose,  and  were  audible  even  to  us 
in  the  tower.  Never  have  I  known  anything  akin  to  that 
terrible  episode  when  bullets  rang  upon  our  decks  in 
hundreds,  and  the  dead  and  living  in  the  other  ship  lay 
huddled  together,  in  a  seething,  struggling,  moaning  mass. 
For  she  had  little  cover,  being  a  cruiser,  and  we  had 
opened  fire  upon  her  before  such  of  her  men  as  could  be 
spared  had  got  below. 

"Let  'em  digest  that!"  cried  Black,  as  he  watched  the 
havoc,  and  puffed  away  with  serene  calmness  amidst  the 
stress  of  it  all;  "let  'em  swallow  lead,  the  vultures.  I'd 
sink  'em  with  one  shot  if  it  wasn't  for  their  oil;  but  they 
ain't  alone!" 

It  was  true.  I,  who  had  not  ceased  to  watch  that  dis- 
tant light  which  marked  another  war-ship  on  the  horizon, 
knew  that  a  second  light  had  shone  out  as  a  star  away  over 
the  sea ;  and  now,  when  I  looked  again  at  his  words,  I  saw 
a  third  light,  but  I  had  no  courage  to  tell  him  of  it.  In- 
deed, we  were  being  surrounded,  and  the  danger  was  the 
greater  for  every  minute  of  delay.  The  cruiser,  although 
she  suffered  so  grievously  from  the  storm  of  lead  which 
we  rained  upon  her,  had  not  hauled  down  her  flag,  and 
still  replied  to  our  fire,  but  more  feebly.  And  the  search- 
lights of  the  distant  ships  were  clearer  to  my  view  every 
moment,  so  that  I  watched  them  alone  at  the  last;  and 
Black  saw  them,  and  took  a  sight  from  the  glass.  Then 
for  the  first  time  his  cigar  fell  from  his  lips,  and  he  mut- 
tered an  exclamation  which  might  have  been  one  of  fear. 

"Boy,"  he  said,  "you  should  have  told  me  of  this.  I 
see  three  lights,  and  that  means  a  fleet  of  the  devils  to 
come.  Well,  I'll  risk  it,  as  I've  risked  it  before.  If  I  can 


264  THE  SHADOW  OX  THE  BEA. 

stop  'ern  now  \vith  a  shot,  the  game's  ours ;  if  she  sinks, 
they  trump  us.*' 

He  gave  a  long  order  in  careful  words  down  through 
the  tube  to  the  turret,  and,  coming  up  to  position,  we  fired 
at  the  cruiser  for  the  last  time,  hitting  her  low  down  in 
the  very  centre  of  her  engine-room.  A  great  volume  of 
steam  gushed  up  from  her  deck,  with  clouds  of  smoke  and 
fire;  and  as  all  shooting  from  her  small  arms  ceased,  we 
went  out  to  the  gallery,  and  the  boats  were  cast  free.  A 
minute  after,  the  ensign  of  the  other  was  lowered,  and 
we  had  beaten  her. 

"You,  'Four-Eyes,'  take  the  launch,  and  get  her  oil," 
Black  sang  out  at  the  sight;  "you'll  have  five  hands,  that's 
all  you  want.  Go  sharp,  if  you'd  save  your  skins!" 

I  stood  on  the  gallery,  and  watched  the  passage  of  the 
small  boat,  which  was  at  the  side  of  the  maimed  cruiser 
almost  in  a  moment.  There  was  no  longer  any  resistance 
to  our  men,  for  the  hands  of  the  other  ship  had  too  much 
work  of  their  own  to  do.  I  saw  some  running  quickly  to 
the  aft  boats,  while  some  were  bearing  wounded  from 
below,  and  others  stood  beneath  the  bridge  taking  orders 
from  a  very  young  officer,  who  had  no  colleagues  in  the 
work.  Not  that  there  was  any  confusion,  only  that  awful 
crying  of  strong  men  in  their  agony,  of  the  dying  who 
feel  death's  hand  upon  them,  of  the  wounded  who  had 
pain  which  was  hardly  to  be  endured.  For  a  long  time 
it  seemed  as  though  no  one  heard  the  hail  of  "Four-Eyes" 
to  be  taken  aboard ;  and  when  at  last  we  watched  him  get 
on  deck,  he  met  with  no  resistance,  but  did  as  he  would. 
Under  the  spreading  rays  of  our  great  arc  you  could  fol- 
low the  whole  scene  as  though  by  day — the  hurrying 
crowd  of  seamen,  the  work  at  the  boat,  the  fear  and  terror 
"f  it  all.  And  you  could  see  at  the  last  a  sight  which  to 


DON'T  THEY  COME?' "         265 

Black  had  more  import  than  anythiHg  else  in  that  picture 
of  distress  and  desolation. 

The  great  ship  began  to  heel  right  over.  Her  stern 
came  high  out  of  the  water,  so  that  her  screws  were 
visible.  She  dipped  her  foc's'le  clean  under  the  breaking 
sea ;  and  so  she  rode  during  some  terrible  minutes.  Her 
own  men  now  cast  off  their  boats  anyhow,  leavihg  the 
wounded,  who  cursed,  or  implored,  or  prayed,  or  shrieked; 
but  "Four-E5'es"  did  not  come,  and  Black  raved,  looking 
away  where  the  search-lights  of  the  other  ships  now 
showed  their  rapid  approach.  To  this  extraordinary  man 
it  was  the  great  cast  of  life.  If  the  cruiser  went  down 
and  his  men  got  no  oil,  we  should  infallibly  be  taken  by 
the  war-ships  then  comihg  Upon  us;  and  I  wonder  not 
that  in  that  moment  he  lost  something  of  his  old  calm, 
pacing  the  bridge  with  nervous  steps,  and  alternately 
cursing  or  imploring  the  men  who  could  not  hear. 

"Why  don't  they  come?"  he  asked  desperately.  "The 
lazy,  loitering  snails!  What  are  they  doing  there?  Do 
you  see  her  heeling?  She  can't  weather  that  list  another 
five  minutes.  Dick!  for  God's  sake  signal  to  them — the 
creeping  vermin!  Ahoy,  there!  Do  you  hear  me?  You 
aboard,  are  you  looking  to  live  to-morrow,  or  will  you  lay 
a  hundred  fathoms  under — look,  boys!  do  you  see  them 
lights?  They're  war-ships — three  of  'em!  We've  got  to 
show  'em  our  heels,  and  we  can't — we've  no  oil,  not  SL 
gallon !  And  they're  talcing  their  ease  like  fine  gentlemen 
aboard  there— the  guzzling  swine — but  I'll  stir  'em !  You 
Dick,  fire  a  shot  at  'em!" 

Dick  had  just  answered  him,  saying,  "Ay,  captain,  I'll 
gie  him  a  wee  bit  o'  irbri  irt  his  gizzard,"  when  his  further 
words  were  broken  on  his  lips,  for  our  hands  appeared  at 


266  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

the  ladder  of  the  doomed  steamer,  and  they  tumbled  into 
the  launch  anyhow,  flying  madly  from  her  side  as  she 
plunged  to  a  huge  sea,  and  with  one  mighty  roll  went 
headlong  under  the  surface  of  the  Atlantic.  At  that  mo- 
ment day  broke,  and,  as  the  silver  light  of  the  dawn  spread 
over  the  dark  of  the  sea,  we  saw  three  ironclads  approach- 
ing us  at  all  their  speed,  and  then  not  three  miles  distant 
from  us.  But  the  launch  was  at  our  side,  and  as  Black 
leant  over,  and  the  new  light  lit  up  his  bloodshot  eyes 
and  haggard  face,  he  asked,  with  hoarseness  in  his  voice — 

"Have  ye  got  the  oil?" 

"Not  a  drop!"  replied  the  cox. 

The  strong  man  reared  himself  straight  up,  and  he 
turned  to  Karl,  at  his  side.  In  that  moment  he  was  really 
great,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  nonchalance  with  which 
he  drew  another  cigar  from  his  case  and  lighted  it.  The 
two  men,  who  had  found  their  calm  as  the  danger  thick- 
ened, were  in  perfect  accord ;  and,  as  one  descended  the 
ladder  to  the  engine-room  with  slow  steps,  the  other  went 
again  to  the  tower,  where  I  followed  him. 

"Boy,"  he  said,  "I've  often  wondered  how  this  old  ship 
would  break  up ;  now  we'll  see,  but  she's  going  to  bite  some 
of  'em  yet,  if  she  can't  last." 
x  "Are  you  going  to  run  for  it  ?"  I  asked. 

"Run  for  it,  with  two  engines,  yes;  but  it's  a  poor 
business.  And  we'll  have  to  fight!  Well,  who  knows? 
There's  luck  at  sea  as  well  as  on  shore.  If  I  run,  they'll 
catch  me  in  ten  miles;  but  we'll  all  do  what  we  can. 
Now  smoke  and  have  a  brandy-and-soda.  You  may  not 
get  another." 

The  drink  I  took,  but  his  calm  I  could  not  share.  If 
the  nameless  ship  were  trapped  at  last,  I  had  freedom ;  but 


KARL  HAS  HIS  ORDERS/  267 

of  what  sort?  The  freedom  of  a  bloody  fight,  the  lottery 
of  life,  the  remote  possibility  that,  the  ship  being  taken,  I 
should  get  to  the  shelter  of  the  war-vessels.  The  man 
soon  undeceived  me  on  both  points. 

"If  we're  out-manoeuvred  and  crippled  in  what's  com- 
ing," said  he,  "I  have  given  Karl  my  orders.  This  ship 
I've  built  and  loved  like  a  child  isn't  going  to  knuckle 
under  to  any  man  living.  She's  going  to  sink,  lad,  and 
we're  all  going  to  blazes  with  her !  What's  the  odds  ?  A 
man  must  die!  Let  him  die  on  his  own  dunghill,  say  I, 
and  a  fig  for  the  reckoning!  We  shall  last  out  as  long 
as  we  can,  and  then  we'll  let  the  cylinders  fill  with 
hydrogen,  and  blow  her  up.  But  you're  not  smoking." 

The  threat,  so  jaunty  yet  so  terrible,  was  almost  like 
a  sentence  of  death  to  me.  I  looked  from  the  glass  of 
the  tower,  and  saw  the  foremost  ironclad  but  two  miles 
away  from  us,  and  the  others  \vere  sweeping  round  to 
cut  us  off  if  we  attempted  flight.  In  the  old  days, 
with  the  nameless  ship  at  the  zenith  of  her  power,  we 
should  have  laughed  at  their  best  efforts — have  flown 
from  them  as  a  bird  from  a  trap.  But  we  lay  with  but 
two  engines  working,  and  a  speed  of  sixteen  knots  at  the 
best.  Nor  did  we  know  from  minute  to  minute  when 
another  engine  would  break  down. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  flight  we  almost  held  our 
own,  shaping  a  curious  course,  which,  if  pursued,  would 
have  brought  us  ultimately  to  the  Irish  coast  again.  For 
some  hours  during  the  morning  I  thought  that  we  gained 
slightly,  and  those  following  evidently  felt  that  it  would 
be  a  waste  of  shell  to  fire  at  us,  for  they  were  silent :  only 
great  volumes  of  smoke  came  from  the  funnels  of  the 
battle-ships,  and  we  knew  that  their  efforts  to  get  greater 
speed  were  prodigious. 


268  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

We  ran  in  thjs  state  all  the  morning,  our  men  silent 
and  brooding;  Black  smoked  cigar  after  cigar  with  a 
dogged  assumption  of  indifference;  the  German  came  to  us 
often  with  his  desperate  gestures  and  his  \voe-begone  face. 
It  was  well  on  in  the  afternoon  before  the  position  changed 
in  any  way,  and  I  had  gone  down  with  the  Captain  to  the 
lower  saloon  to  make  the  pretence  of  lunching.  There  we 
sat — "Four- Eyes"  with  us — a  miserable  trio,  cracking 
jokes,  and  expressing  desperate  hopes;  sending  up  the 
negro  every  other  moment  to  learn  how  the  ironclad  lay, 
and  much  comforted  when  at  the  fifth  coming  he  said— 

"You  gain,  sar,  plenty,  sar;  you  run  right  away,  sar." 

"We  do?"  cried  Black,  who  jumped  from  his  seat  and 
ran  up  the  companion-way  to  confirm  the  tale,  and  he 
shouted  down  to  us,  "Crack  another  bottle,  if  it's  the  last, 
and  give  it  to  the  nigger;  we're  leaving  them!" 

His  elation  was  contagious.  "Four-Eyes"  awoke  from 
his  lethargy,  and  drank  a  pint  of  the  wine  at  a  draught. 
The  nigger  put  out  a  glass  with  a  satisfied  leer.  The  Cap- 
tain took  a  bottle  and  laid  his  hand  on  the  cork.  But 
there  it  stayed,  for  at  that  moment  there  came  a  horrible 
sound  of  grating  and  tearing  from  the  engine-room,  and  it 
was  succeeded  by  a  moment  of  dead  and  chilling  silence. 

"The  second  engine's  gone!"  said  the  man  above,  quite 
calmly,  and  we  knew  the  worst,  and  went  on  deck  again. 

We  found  the  crew  sullen  and  muttering,  but  Friedrich, 
the  engineer's  eldest  son,  sat  at  the  top  of  the  engine-room 
ladder,  and  tears  rolled  down  his  face.  The  great  ship 
still  trembled  under  the  shock  of  the  breakdown  and  was 
not  showing  ten  knots.  The  foremost  ironclad  crept  up 
minute  by  minute;  and  before  we  had  realised  the  whole 
extent  of  the  mishap,  she  was  within  gunshot  of  us;  but 


A  VOYAGE  OF  DEATH!  269 

her  colleagues  were  some  miles  away,  she  outpacing  them 
all  through  it. 

"Bedad,  she  signals  to  us  to  let  her  come  aboard,"  said 
"Four-Eyes,"  who  watched  her  intently. 

"Answer  that  we'll  see  her  in  chips  first,"  said  Black, 
and  he  called  for  Karl  and  made  signs  to  him. 

"If  so  be  ye  don't  come  to,  he'll  be  about  to  fire 
upon  ye,"  cried  "Four-Eyes"  again,  who  stood  at  the  flag- 
line,  and  this  time  Black  thought  before  he  answered — 

"Then  parley  with  'em;  we'll  come  alongside  and  hear 
their  jaw." 

There  was  a  leer  of  positive  deviltry  on  his  face  as  he 
said  this,  and  he  beckoned  me  into  the  conning-tower, 
when  he  closed  the  tower  and  bade  me  watch.  Those 
on  the  battle-ship  made  quite  sure  of  us  now,  for  they 
steamed  on  and  came  within  three  hundred  yards  of  us. 
Black  watched  them  as  a  beast  watches  the  unsuspecting 
prey.  He  stood,  his  face  knit  in  savage  lines,  his  hand 
upon  the  bell.  I  looked  from  the  glass,  and  saw  that  no 
man  was  visible  upon  our  decks,  that  our  engines  had 
ceased  to  move.  We  were  motionless.  Then  in  a  second 
the  bells  rang  out.  There  was  again  that  frightful  grating 
and  tearing  in  the  engine-room.  The  nameless  ship  came 
round  to  her  helm  with  a  mighty  sweep:  she  foamed  and 
plunged  in  the  seas;  she  turned  her  ram  straight  at  the 
other;  and,  groaning  as  a  great  stricken  wounded  beast, 
she  roared  onward  to  the  voyage  of  death.  I  knew  then 
the  fearful  truth :  Black  meant  to  sink  the  cruiser  with  his 
ram.  I  shall  never  forget  that  moment  of  terror,  that 
grinding  of  heated  steel,  that  plunge  into  the  seas.  Hold- 
ing with  all  my  strength  to  the  seat  of  the  tower,  I  waited 
for  the  crash,  and  in  the  suspense  hours  seemed  to  pass. 


270  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

At  last,  there  was  under  the  sea  a  mighty  clap  as  of  sub- 
marine thunder.  Dashed  headlong  from  my  post,  I  lay 
bruised  and  wounded  upon  the  floor  of  steel.  The  roof 
above  me  rocked ;  the  walls  shook  and  were  bent ;  my  ears 
rang  with  the  deafening  roar  in  them;  seas  of  foam 
mounted  before  the  glass;  shrieks  and  the  sound  of  awful 
rending  and  tearing  drowned  other  shouts  of  men  going 
to  their  death.  And  through  all  was  the  hysterical  yelling 
of  Black,  his  cursing,  his  defiance,  his  elation. 

"Come  and  see,"  he  roared,  dragging  me  by  the  collar 
to  the  gallery;  "come  and  see.  They  sink,  the  lubbers! 
They  go  to  blazes  every  one  of  them.  Look  at  their  faces, 
the  crawling  scum.  Ha!  ha!  Die,  you  vermin!  as  you 
meant  me  to  die;  fill  your  skins  with  water,  you  sharks! 
I  spit  on  you!  Boys,  do  you  hear  them  crying  to 
you?  Music,  fine  music!  Who'll  dance  when  the  devil 
plays?  Dance,  you  lazy  blacklegs;  dance  on  nothing! 
Ha,  ha!" 

No  man  has  ever  looked  on  a  more  awful  sight.  We 
had  struck  the  battle-ship  low  amidships — we  had  crashed 
through  the  thinnest  coat  of  her  steel.  She  had  heeled 
right  over  from  the  shock,  so  that  the  guns  had  cast  free 
from  the  carriages,  and  the  seas  had  filled  her.  Thus  for 
one  terrible  minute  she  lay,  her  men  crowding  upon  her 
starboard  side,  or  jumping  into  the  sea,  or  making  desper- 
ate attempts  to  get  her  boats  free;  and  then,  with  a  heavy 
lurch,  she  rolled  beneath  the  waves;  and  there  was  left 
but  thirty  or  forty  struggling  souls,  who  battled  for  their 
lives  with  the  great  rollers  of  the  Atlantic.  Of  these  a 
few  reached  the  side  of  our  ship  and  were  shot  there  as 
they  clung  to  the  ladder ;  a  few  swam  strongly  in  the  des- 
perate hope  that  the  brutes  about  me  would  relent,  and 
sank  at  last  with  piercing  and  piteous  cries  upon  their 


MEN  DRUNK  WITH  FEROCITY!       271 

lips;  others  died  quickly,  calling  upon  God  as  they  went 
to  their  rest. 

For  ourselves  we  lay,  our  bows  split  with  the  shock,  our 
engine-room  in  fearful  disorder,  our  men  drunk  with 
ferocity  and  with  despair.  The  other  war-ships  were  yet 
some  distance  away;  but  they  opened  fire  upon  us  at 
hazard,  and,  of  the  first  three  shells  which  fell,  two  cut 
our  decks;  and  sent  clouds  of  splinters,  of  wood,  and  of 
human  flesh  flying  in  the  smoke-laden  air.  At  the  fifth 
shot,  a  gigantic  crash  resounded  from  below,  and  the 
stokers  rushed  above  with  the  news  that  the  fore-stoke- 
hold had  three  feet  of  water  in  it.  The  hands  received 
the  news  with  a  deep  groan ;  then  with  curses,  and  re- 
criminations. They  bellowed  like  bulls  at  Black;  they 
refused  all  orders.  He  shot  down  man  after  man,  while 
I  crouched  for  safety  in  the  tower;  and  they  became  but 
fiercer.  Our  end  was  evidently  near;  and,  knowing  this, 
they  fell  upon  the  liquor,  and  were  worse  than  fiends. 
Anon  they  turned  upon  the  Captain  and  myself,  and  fired 
volleys  upon  the  conning-tower ;  or,  in  their  terrible 
frenzy,  they  pitched  themselves  into  the  sea,  or  raved  with 
drunken  songs,  and  vented  their  vengeance  upon  the 
Irishman,  "Four-Eyes,"  chasing  him  wildly,  and  stabbing 
him  with  many  cuts,  so  that  he  dropped  dying  at  our 
door,  with  no  more  reproach  than  the  simple  words — 

"God  help  me!  but  had  I  died  in  me  own  counthry  I 
would  have  known  more  pace." 

Through  all  this  our  one  engine  worked ;  and  so  slowly 
did  the  great  ironclad  draw  upon  us  that  the  end  of  it  all 
came  before  they  could  reach  us.  Suddenly  the  men 
rushed  to  the  boats  and  cast  them  loose.  Fighting  with 
the  dash  of  madmen,  they  crowded  the  launch,  they 


272          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

swarmed  the  jolly-boat  and  the  lifeboat.  Even  the  en- 
gineer's son  felt  the  touch  of  contagion,  and  joined  the 
melee.  We  watched  their  insane  efforts  as  boat  after 
boat  put  away  and  was  swamped,  leaving  the  devilish  men 
to  drown  as  the  worthier  fellows  had  drowned  before 
them ;  and  amongst  the  last  to  die  was  "Dick  the  Ranter," 
who  went  down  with  blasphemies  gurgling  upon  his  lips. 
When  six  o'clock  came,  Black  and  Karl  and  myself  were 
alone  upon  the  great  ship;  and  in  the  stillness  which  fol- 
lowed there  came  another  weird  and  wild  and  soul- 
stirring  shriek — the  cry  of  the  dumb  engineer,  who  found 
speech  in  the  great  catastrophe.  Then  Black  pulled  me 
by  the  arm  and  said — 

"Boy,  they've  left  nothing  but  the  dinghy.  The  old 
ship's  done;  and  it's  time  you  left  her." 

"And  you?"  I  asked. 

He  looked  at  me  and  at  Karl.  He  had  meant  to  die 
with  the  ship,  I  knew;  but  the  old  magnetism  of  my 
presence  held  him  again  in  that  hour.  He  followed  me 
slowly,  as  one  in  a  dream,  to  the  davits  aft,  and  freed  the 
last  of  the  boats,  overlooked  by  the  hands  in  their  frenzy 
and  their  panic.  Then  he  went  to  his  cabin,  and  to  the 
rooms  below ;  and  I  helped  him  to  put  a  couple  of  kegs  of 
water  in  the  frail  craft,  with  some  biscuit,  which  we 
lashed,  and  a  case  of  wine  which  he  insisted  on. 

The  preparation  cost  us  half-an-hour  of  time,  and  when 
all  was  ready,  the  captain  went  to  the  engine-room  and 
brought  Karl  to  the  top  of  the  ladder ;  but  there  the  Ger- 
man stayed,  nor  did  threats  or  entreaties  move  him. 

"He'll  die  with  the  ship,"  said  Black,  "and  I  don't 
know  that  he  isn't  wise ;"  but  he  held  out  his  hand  to  the 
genius  of  his  crime,  and  after  a  great  grip  the  two  men 
parted. 


IN  A  CASCADE  OF  FIRE.  273 

For  ourselves,  we  stepped  on  the  frailest  craft  with 
which  men  ever  faced  the  Atlantic,  and  at  that  moment 
the  first  of  the  ironclads  fired  another  shell  at  the  name- 
less ship.  It  was  a  crashing  shot,  but  it  had  come  too 
late  to  serve  justice,  or  to  wreck  the  ship  of  mystery;  for 
Karl  had  let  the  hydrogen  into  the  cylinders  unchecked, 
and  with  a  mighty  rush  of  flame,  and  a  terrific  explosion, 
the  craft  of  gold  gave  her  "Vale!"  And  in  a  cascade  of 
fire,  lighting  the  sea  for  many  miles,  and  making  as  day 
the  newly-fallen  night,  the  golden  citadel  hissed  over  the 
water  for  one  moment,  then  plunged  headlong,  and  was 
no  more. 

A  fierce  fire  it  was,  lighting  sea  and  sky — a  mighty 
holocaust ;  the  roar  of  a  great  conflagration ;  the  end  of  a 
monstrous  dream.  And  I  thought  of  another  fire  and 
another  face — the  face  of  Martin  Hall,  who  had  seen  the 
finger  of  Almighty  God  in  his  mission;  and  I  said,  "His 
work  is  done!" 

But  Black,  clinging  to  the  dinghy,  wept  as  a  man 
stricken  with  a  great  grief,  and  he  cried  so  that  the 
coldest  heart  might  have  been  moved — 

"My  ship,  my  ship!  Oh  God,  my  ship!" 


274 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
A  PAGE  IN  BLACK'S  LIFE. 

I  KNOW  not  whether  it  was  the  amazing  spectacle  of 
the  nameless  ship's  end,  or  the  sudden  coming  down  of 
night,  that  kept  attention  from  our  boat  when  the  great 
vessel  had  sunk;  but  those  on  the  ironclads,  which  were 
at  least  two  miles  from  us  as  we  put  off,  seemed  to  be 
unaware  that  any  boat  from  the  ship  lived ;  and,  although 
they  steamed  for  some  hours  in  our  vicinity,  they  saw 
nothing  of  us  as  we  lay  in  the  plunging  dinghy.  When 
night  fell,  and  with  it  what  breeze  that  had  been  blowing, 
we  lost  sight  of  them  altogether,  and  knew  for  the  first 
time  the  whole  terror  of  the  situation.  Black  had  indeed 
recovered  much  of  his  old  calm,  and  drank  long  draughts 
of  champagne;  but  he  sat  silent,  and  uttered  no  word  for 
many  hours  after  the  end  of  that  citadel  which  had  given 
him  such  great  power.  As  for  the  little  boat,  it  was  a 
puny  protection  against  the  sweeping  rollers  of  the  At- 
lantic, and  I  doubt  not  that  we  had  been  drowned  that 
very  night  if  a  storm  of  any  moment  had  broken  upon  us. 
About  midnight  a  thunderstorm  got  up  from  the  south, 
and  the  sea,  rising  somewhat  with  it,  wetted  us  to  the 
skin.  The  lightning,  terribly  vivid  and  incessant,  lighted 
up  the  whole  sea  again  and  again,  showing  each  the  other's 
face,  the  face  of  a  worn  and  fatigue-stricken  man.  And 
the  rain  and  the  sea  beat  on  us  until  we  shivered,  cower- 
ing, and  were  numbed ;  our  hands  stiffened  with  the  salt 
upon  them,  so  that  we  could  scarce  get  the  warming 
liquor  to  our  lips.  Yet  Black  held  to  his  silence,  moaning 
at  rare  intervals  as  he  had  moaned  when  the  great  ship 


WE  LOOK  FOR  SHIPS.  275 

sank.  It  was  not  until  the  sun  rose  over  the  long  swell 
that  we  slept  for  an  hour  or  more;  and  after  sleep  we 
were  both  calmer,  looking  for  ships  with  much  expecta- 
tion, and  that  longing  which  the  derelict  only  may  know. 
The  Captain  was  then  very  quiet,  and  he  gazed  often  at 
me  with  the  expression  I  had  seen  on  his  face  when  he 
saved  me  from  his  men. 

"Boy,"  he  said,  "look  well  at  the  sun,  lest  you  never 
look  at  it  again." 

"I  am  looking,"  I  replied;  "it  is  life  to  me." 

"If,"  he  continued,  very  thoughtful,  "you,  who  have 
years  with  you,  should  live  when  I  go  under,  you'll  take 
this  belt  I'm  wearing  off  me;  it'll  help  you  ashore.  If  it 
happen  that  I  live  with  you,  it'll  help  both  of  us." 

"We're  in  the  track  of  steamers,"  said  I;  "there's  no 
reason  to  look  at  it  that  way  yet.  Please  God,  we'll  be 
seen." 

"That's  your  way,  and  the  right  one,"  he  answered; 
"but  I'm  not  a  man  like  that,  and  my  heart's  gone  with 
my  ship:  we  shall  never  see  her  like  again." 

"You  built  her?"  I  said  questioningly. 

"Yes,"  he  responded,  "I  built  her  when  I  put  my  hand 
against  the  world,  and,  if  it  happened  to  me  to  go  through 
it  again,  I'd  do  the  same." 

"What  did  you  go  through?"  I  asked,  as  he  passed  me 
the  biscuits  and  the  cup  with  liquor  in  it,  and  as  he  sat  up 
in  the  raft  I  saw  that  the  man  had  death  written  on  his 
face. 

But  at  that  time  he  told  me  nothing  in  answer  to  my 
question ;  and  sat  for  many  hours  motionless,  his  glassy 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  In  the  afternoon, 
however,  he  suddenly  sat  up,  and  took  up  his  thread  as 
if  he  had  broken  it  but  a  minute  before. 


276  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"I  went  through  much,"  said  he,  gazing  over  the 
mirror-like  surface  of  the  trackless  water-desert,  "as  boy 
and  man.  I  lived  a  life  which  was  hell;  God  knows  it." 

I  did  not  press  him  to  tell  me  more,  for  in  truth  I 
shivered  so,  and  was  so  numbed  that  even  my  curiosity  to 
know  of  this  life  of  crime  and  of  mystery  was  not  so 
paramount  as  to  banish  that  other  thought:  Shall  we  live 
when  the  sun  sinks  this  night?  But  he  found  relief  in 
his  talk,  and,  as  the  liquor  warmed  him,  he  continued 
faster  than  before — 

"I  was  a  stepson,  boy;  bound  to  a  brute  with  not  as 
much  conscience  as  a  big  dog,  and  no  more  human  nature 
in  him  than  a  wild  bull.  My  mother  died  three  months 
after  he  took  her,  and  I'm  not  going  to  speak  about  her, 
God  help  me;  but  if  I  had  the  man  under  my  hands  that 
treated  her  so,  I'd  crush  his  skull  like  I  crush  this  biscuit. 
Well,  that  ain't  my  tale;  you  ask  me  what  I  went 
through,  and  I'm  trying  to  tell  you.  Have  you  ever 
wanted  a  meal?  No,  I  reckon  not;  and  you  can't  get  it 
in  your  mind  to  know  what  living  on  bones  and  bits  for 
more  than  a  couple  of  years  means,  can  you,  as  I  lived 
down  in  my  home  at  Glasgow,  and  often  since  out  West 
and  at  Colorado?  I'd  come  out  from  Scotland  as  a  bit  of 
a  lad  not  turned  thirteen,  and  I  sailed  aboard  the  Savan- 
nah City  to  Montreal,  and  then  to  Rio,  and  in  Japan 
waters ;  and  for  three  years,  until  I  deserted  at  'Frisco,  no 
deviltry  that  human  fiends  could  think  of  was  unknown 
to  me.  But  they  made  a  sailor  of  me ;  and  full-rigged  ship 
or  steamer  I'd  navigate  with  the  best  of  'em.  After  that, 
I  went  aboard  a  brig  plying  between  'Frisco  and  Yoko- 
hama, and  there  I  picked  up  much,  leaving  her  after  two 
years  to  get  across  to  Europe,  and  do  the  ocean  trade  with 


I  FATHOM  A  MYSTERY.  277 

the  Jackson  line  between  Southampton  and  Buenos  Ayres. 
It  was  in  that  city  I  met  my  wife.  I  married  her  in  Men- 
doza;  for  she  came  of  rich  folk,  who  spat  on  me,  and  was 
only  a  bit  of  a  girl  who'd  never  wanted  a  comfort  on  this 
earth  until  that  time,  and  who  starved  with  me  then  and 
for  years.  My  God !  my  whole  body  burns  when  I  think 
of  it — that  bit  of  a  creature,  who'd  never  known  the  lack 
of  a  gratification,  and  who  was  dragged  down  to  every 
degradation  by  my  curse." 

I  looked  at  him  in  surprise,  and  he  answered  me  in- 
stinctively. 

"Yes,  by  my  curse.  Maybe  you  don't  know  what  it 
was,  for  I've  held  it  under  a  bit  since  she  died,  but  I  was 
a  drunkard  then — a  maniac  when  I  had  the  liquor  on  me, 
a  devil  from  whom  all  men  fled.  Not  that  there  isn't 
work  for  any  man  in  that  country — work,  and  well  paid 
— but  I  had  the  fever  on  me,  and — well,  we  sank  very 
low.  How  I  lived  I  can't  tell  you;  but  after  a  couple  of 
years  of  it  I  worked  a  passage  to  New  York,  and  there  my 
son  was  born.  When  he  grew  up  he  was  the  very  image 
of  you.  That's  why  I  gave  you  your  life  when  you  came 
on  my  ship." 

The  words  were  spoken  in  that  gentle  voice  he  could 
command  sometimes,  and,  as  he  uttered  them,  he  took  my 
hand  and  gave  it  a  great  grip.  I  understood  then  that 
curious  look  he  had  given  me  at  our  first  meeting;  his 
partisanship  for  me  against  the  men;  and  that  last  great 
risk  which  had  brought  the  end  of  it  all,  if  it  had  not 
brought  death  to  both  of  us.  Somewhere  down  in  that 
human  well  of  crime  and  ferocity  there  was  a  spring  of 
purer  water.  I  had  set  it  free  when  I  brought  old  mem- 
ories to  him,  and  I  owed  it  to  him  that  amazing  chance 
that  I  lived  through  the  frenzies  of  Ice-haven. 


278          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

"Yes,"  said  Black,  observing  my  surprise,  and  passing 
me  the  liquor  which  he  compelled  me  to  drink;  "my  boy 
was  your  height,  and  your  build,  and  he  had  your  eyes. 
What's  more,  he  had  your  grit,  and  there  was  no  cooler 
hand  living.  Not  that  he  owed  much  to  me,  for  I  was 
mad  drunk  half  his  life;  and,  when  sober,  I  lived  as  often 
as  not  in  prison  for  what  I  had  done  in  liquor.  It  was 
when  he  was  nearly  twenty  that  the  change  came;  for  he 
began  to  bring  home  money,  do  you  see?  and,  what  with 
his  work  and  the  way  he  talked  to  me,  I  set  myself  to  get 
the  craving  under;  and  I  was  a  new  man  in  one  year, 
and  in  two  my  brain  came  back  to  me,  and  I  made  the 
discovery  that  I  was  not  born  a  fool.  You  may  reckon  I 
worshiped  the  lad!  God  knows,  he  and  his  mother  did 
for  me  more  than  man  or  woman  ever  did  for  a  breathing 
body.  And  when  my  wits  came  back  to  me,  and  I  thought 
what  I  might  have  done,  and  what  I  had  done,  and  that 
my  boy  had  borne  it  all  only  to  drag  me  to  my  reason  at 
last,  I  could  have  ended  it  there  and  then.  Maybe  I 
should  have  done  it  if  a  new  turn  hadn't  come  in  my  life's 
road.  It  was  when  I  was  at  my  lowest,  and  we  were  sore 
put  to  it  to  get  food  in  New  York  that  I  was  taken  up  by 
a  man  who  was  going  to  Michigan  seeking  copper.  My 
lad  was  then  working  with  a  Mike  Leveston  in  the  city — 
a  land-agent  for  the  up-country  work,  and  the  owner  of 
a  line  of  small  brigs  running  between  Boston  and  the  Ba- 
hamas; but  times  had  gone  bad  with  him,  and  the  boy, 
who  had  been  getting  good  money,  found  himself  with  no 
more  than  enough  to  keep  him,  let  alone  his  mother.  Well, 
I  thought  the  thing  out,  and,  as  my  partner  had  some 
capital  and  agreed  to  let  me  have  ten  dollars  a  week  any 
way,  I  made  an  agreement  with  Leveston  that  he  should 


ORE  AS  THICK  AS  CLAY.  279 

allow  the  wife  and  the  boy  enough  to  live  on  for  six 
months,  and  I  set  out  for  the  State  where  the  copper  find 
was  beginning  to  attract  notice,  and  in  a  year  I  was  a 
made  man.  We  found  the  ore  as  thick  as  clay,  and, 
under  the  excitement  of  it,  I  kept  my  head,  and  the  drink 
craze  never  touched  me.  When  the  money  came  in,  I 
made  Leveston  my  New  York  agent,  and  sent  him  enough 
to  set  up  the  woman  who'd  stood  by  me  all  through  in 
more  luxury  than  she'd  known  since  she  married  me.  For 
a  while  her  letters  told  me  of  her  new  life,  and  I  kept 
them  under  my  shirt  as  I  would  have  kept  leaves  of  gold. 
In  the  spring,  I  sent  the  agent  twenty  thousand  dollars 
for  her ;  and  I  got  his  acknowledgment,  saying  she'd  gone 
down  to  Charleston  to  see  about  the  boy's  work  there, 
and  I  should  hear  from  her  on  her  return. 

"I  think  this  was  about  eighteen  months  after  I  left 
New  York,  and  from  that  time  my  wife  ceased  to  write  to 
me,  and  I  heard  nothing  more  from  the  lad.  We'd  been 
doing  such  work  in  the  mine  that  we  had  enough  money 
to  pay  our  way  for  life,  and  we  hoped  to  make  an  al- 
mighty pile  before  many  years  had  gone;  but  I  couldn't 
bear  not  hearing  from  them  as  I  worked  for,  and  in  the 
fall  of  the  year  I  went  back  to  New  York — under  pro- 
test from  my  partner,  who  could  do  nothing  without  me 
— and  I  never  rested  until  I  reached  my  house  in  Fifty- 
Fourth  Street.  I  found  it  shut  up,  the  furniture  gone, 
not  a  sign  of  living  being  in  it ;  and  when  I  went  to  make 
inquiries  amongst  my  neighbours,  they  told  me  what  came 
to  this.  My  wife  had  died  of  starvation — nothing  less, 
boy,  for  the  devil  I'd  sent  the  money  to  had  doled  out  to 
her  and  the  lad  a  few  dollars  for  the  first  year,  but  had 
cut  and  run  when  the  big  sums  reached  him;  and  he  took 


28o          THE  SHADOff  ON  THE  SEA. 

the  boy  with  him  on  the  pretence  of  a  job  in  the  Southern 
city.  My  son,  you  see,  had  turned  naturally  to  archi- 
tect's work,  and  was  induced  by  this  long-toothed  vulture 
to  quit  New  York,  because  they  heard  from  the  mine 
that  I  was  dead — that  I  died,  as  Leveston  had  told  them, 
of  small-pox — and  left  not  a  shilling  for  them.  God !  if  I 
could  bring  him  to  life  to  clutch  his  cursed  throat  again!" 

"But  what  became  of  your  son?"  I  asked,  as  he  ceased 
speaking,  and  we  lay  riding  gently  over  the  long  rollers, 
with  a  great  flood  of  sunlight  making  the  sea  as  a  sheen  of 
beaten  gold,  touched  with  diamond  points  where  the  spray 
broke.  Then  he  went  on  with  it ;  but  you  could  see  some 
awful  emotion  moving  him,  and  he  kept  plying  himself 
with  drink,  which  made  his  words  the  fiercer. 

"What  became  of  the  boy?"  he  repeated  after  me. 
"Why,  he  went  south  in  the  hope  of  sending  money  to 
his  mother;  and  directly  he  reached  Charleston,  Leveston 
shipped  him  on  a  brig,  knowing  that  I  must  hear  of  his 
doings  in  a  month  or  more.  He  sent  the  lad  to  Panama, 
and  there  he  died,  one  of  the  first  to  be  stricken  in  the 
fever  land.  They  buried  him  in  the  country,  as  the  Lord 
is  my  witness.  Then  I  came  home — rich,  my  trunks 
stuffed  with  notes,  able,  if  I  cared,  to  buy  up  half  the 
land-agents  in  New  York  City;  and  the  money  I'd  got 
seemed  to  turn  black  in  my  hands  when  I  found  that  those 
it  was  made  for  needed  it  no  more.  Not  as  I  knew  then 
of  the  lad's  death — that  I  was  to  hear  of  later;  but,  free 
from  the  drink,  I  had  loved  the  woman  who  was  gone; 
and  I  was  a  madman  for  days  and  weeks.  When  I  got 
my  head  again  I  changed  as  I  don't  believe  any  man  ever 
changed  before ;  there  was  something  in  my  mind  which  I 
could  not  cope  with.  I  can't  lay  it  down  any  clearer  than 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CREW.  281 

this:  it  was  a  hatred  of  all  men  that  took  possession  of 
me — a  fierce  desire  to  make  mankind  pay  for  the  wrongs 
I  had  suffered.  I  gave  myself  up  to  the  drink  again,  but 
not  as  I  did  when  they  named  me  a  drunkard.  This 
time  I  was  the  master  of  it ;  I  used  it  for  my  purpose ;  I 
fed  my  thoughts  of  vengeance  on  it;  and,  while  my  part- 
ner was  sending  me  more  than  a  thousand  pounds  a  week 
from  Michigan,  I  remained  in  New  York  with  the  double 
purpose  in  my  head — to  get  my  boy  back  to  me,  and  to 
crush  the  life  out  of  the  man  who  had  left  my  wife  to  die. 
''All  the  news  I  could  get  at  that  time  was  this:  the 
boy  had  left  Charleston,  ostensibly  for  the  Bahamas,  three 
months  before  I  reached  New  York  City;  but  nothing 
more  had  been  heard  of  him  or  the  ship.  I  put  the  best 
detectives  in  the  city  on  Leveston's  trail,  raining  the 
money  into  their  pockets  to  keep  them  to  the  work;  and 
they  got  it  out  of  some  of  Leveston's  seamen  in  Savannah 
that  he  had  gone  a  long  cruise  in  one  of  his  barques  to 
Rio,  and  even  farther  south.  This  news  was  like  red-hot 
iron  to  my  head.  I  knew  that  I  couldn't  touch  the  man 
by  law,  except  for  the  robbery  of  the  bit  of  money,  and 
that  I  didn't  care  a  brass  button  about.  What  I  meant 
to  have  was-  his  life,  and  I  swore  that  no  man  should  take 
it  but  me.  Then  I  went  into  every  low  haunt  in  New 
York.  I  searched  the  drinking  dens  of  the  Bowery;  I 
made  friends  with  all  the  thieves,  picked  up  the  loafers, 
and  the  starving.  The  parson  who's  gone  I  found  run- 
ning a  gambling  hell  in  New  Jersey;  the  man  'Four- 
Eyes'  I  took  from  a  crimp  at  Boston ;  John  we  got  later 
on  at  Rio,  where  we  bought  him  from  the  police.  I  had 
as  fine  a  crew  of  scoundrels  in  a  month  as  ever  cursed  in  a 
fo 'castle;  and  I  shipped  them  all  on  the  screw-steamer, 


282  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

Rossa,  which  I  bought  for  six  thousand  pounds  from  the 
Rossa  Company.  She  was  just  on  six  hundred  tons,  an 
iron  boat  built  for  the  meat  trade;  but  \ve  knocked  her 
about  quick  enough,  setting  three  machine-guns  for'ard, 
and  fifty  Winchester  rifles  among  her  stores.  We  put 
out  from  Sandy  Hook,  it  must  be  nearly  six  years  ago; 
and  we  steamed  straight  ahead  for  Rio,  where  we  got 
tidings  of  Leveston's  barque.  She  had  sailed  for  Buenos 
Ayres,  but  they  looked  for  her  return  within  the  month, 
and  we  left  again  next  day,  cruising  near  shore  as  far  as 
Desterro,  where  luck  was  with  us. 

"I  remember  that  morning  as  if  it  was  yesterday.  We 
had  struck  eight-bells,  and  the  men  were  going  down  to 
dinner,  when  the  mate  sighted  a  ship  on  the  port-bow. 
We  put  straight  out  to  sea  at  the  hail,  and  within  half- 
an-hour  we  stood  alongside  her;  and  the  man  who  an- 
swered my  call  was  Mike  Leveston.  When  he  saw  me 
hailing  him  from  the  poop  of  a  steamer,  he  turned  green 
as  the  sea  about  him;  and  he  yelled  to  me  to  stand  off  if 
I  didn't  want  a  bullet  in  me.  The  sight  of  him  maddened 
me;  I  turned  the  machine-gun  on  his  decks,  and  swept 
them  clear  as  a  grass  field,  but  he  lay  flat  on  his  face  by 
the  taffrail,  and  he  bellowed  for  mercy  like  a  woman. 
And  he  got  it.  I  ran  the  steamer  alongside  him,  smashing 
in  his  quarter,  and  when  we  had  gripped,  I  got  aboard. 
Then  he  grovelled  at  my  feet,  and,  as  I  held  my  pistol  at 
his  head,  he  gabbled  out  the  news  that  my  son  was  dead — 
told  me  that  he  died  at  Panama,  and  he  screamed  for 
mercy  like  a  hog  at  the  block.  But  I  cut  his  throat  from 
ear  to  ear  with  my  own  knife,  and  I  threw  his  body  to  the 
sharks  limb  by  limb  as  you  would  throw  a  dead  sheep  to 
the  dogs.  God  knows  I  was  mad  then,  as  I  have  been 
often  since,  and  am  now.  My  poor  son!'" 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  PIRACY.          283 

"The  man  told  you  the  truth,  then?" 

"Yes.  When  I  had  made  chips  of  his  ship  I  went  back 
to  Panama,  and  there  got  news  of  the  boy.  They  had 
buried  him  at  Porto  Bello,  and  I  stopped  there  long  enough 
to  make  his  grave  decent,  and  then  returned  up  the  coast 
to  New  York.  Coming  back,  the  vermin  with  me  took  a 
fancy  on  the  third  day  out,  when  three  parts  of  them  were 
drunk  to  do  with  a  strange  brig  as  they  had  done  with  Lev- 
eston's.  They  stopped  her  with  the  guns,  and  cleared  her 
of  every  dollar  aboard,  sending  her  to  the  bottom  out  of 
pure  deviltry.  I  didn't  stop  'em;  for  I  had  the  madness 
of  the  drink  on  me  again,  and  I  led  'em  at  the  work  then, 
and  when  they  sent  a  dozen  more  coasters  after  the  two 
that  had  gone  on  the  voyage  to  Sandy  Hook.  By  the  time 
we  were  in  New  York  again,  I  had  got  a  taste  for  the  new 
work  which  nothing  could  cure.  It  seemed  as  if  I  was  to 
revenge  on  mankind  the  wrong  I  had  suffered  from  one 
man ;  and,  more  than  that,  I  saw  there  was  money  in  heaps 
in  it.  They  said  at  home  that  piracy  was  played  out,  but 
I  asked  myself,  'How's  that?  Give  me  a  ship  big  enough,' 
said  I.  'and  under  certain  conditions  I'll  sweep  the  Atlan- 
tic.' There  was  danger  enough  in  the  job,  and  it  was  big 
enough  to  tempt  that  curious  brain  of  mine,  which  had  al- 
ways dreamed  of  big  jobs  since  I'd  been  a  bit  of  a  boy; 
and  I  was  fascinated  with  this  big  idea  until  I  couldn't 
hold  myself.  That's  what  led  me  to  keep*  the  crew  to- 
gether at  New  York,  and  to  return  to  Michigan,  where 
I  found  that  the  mine  was  making  money  faster  almost 
than  they  could  bank  it,  and  if  I  was  worth  a  penny,  I 
was  worth  a  million  sterling  at  that  very  time;  for  my 
partner  behaved  square  all  through,  and  paid  my  share  to 
the  last  penny.  I  stayed  with  him  about  a  couple  of 


284          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

months  then,  giving  my  wits  to  the  job,  and  it  was  there 
I  met  Karl,  the  German  engineer,  who  had  got  it  into  his 
head  that  gas  was  the  motor  of  the  near  future.  He  talked 
of  using  it  for  the  copper  work,  and  then  of  building  gas 
launches  for  transport;  but  he  didn't  know  that  he'd  set 
me  all  aglow  with  another  thought,  which  was  nothing  less 
than  this — that  I  should  build  a  steamer  driven  by  gas, 
and  run  a  game  of  piracy  on  the  Atlantic  with  her.  Do 
you  call  it  lunacy?  Well,  other  men  have  made  good 
company  for  such  lunatics,  the  Corsican  murderer  at 
Moscow  among  'em.  And  what  was  it  to  be  but  a  fight 
of  one  man  against  the  world — a  fight  to  set  your  best 
blood  running  fast  in  your  veins,  to  brace  every  nerve  in 
your  body.  Boy,  I  lived  for  a  year  on  that  excitement, 
which  was  more  even  than  the  drink  to  me.  I  left  the  mine 
to  cruise  again  in  the  Rossa  with  the  old  hands;  but  we 
had  added  a  long  'chaser'  to  our  list  of  guns  and  in  the 
three  months  out  we  took  twenty  ships  and  over  two  hun- 
dred thousand  in  specie.  I  saw  from  the  beginning  of  it 
that  the  one  thing  we  couldn't  stand  against  with  a  coal 
steamer  was  the  constant  putting  into  port  to  fill  her 
bunkers ;  and  I  knew  that  if  we  didn't  find  some  haven  of 
refuge  out  of  the  common  run,  the  day  would  come  when 
we  should  swing  like  common  cut-throats.  I  had  taken 
Karl  on  board  with  me  for  the  trip,  and  he  was  the  man  to 
set  both  things  square.  He  ran  me  north  of  Godthaab, 
in  Greenland,  and  put  me  into  the  fjord  you  have  known ; 
and  he  drew  the  plans  of  my  ship,  which  I  made  the  Ital- 
ians at  Spezia  build  for  me — for  I  had  the  money,  and,  as 
for  the  metal,  the  phosphor  bronze  of  which  I  built  her — 
well,  that  was  Karl's  idea,  too.  You  may  know  that 
phosphor  bronze  is  the  finest  material  for  ship-building  in 


WHY  HALL  DIED.  285 

the  world,  but  the  majority  of  'em  can't  use  it  on  account 
of  the  cost  of  the  copper.  Well,  the  copper  I  had,  any 
amount  of  it ;  and  I  shipped  it  to  Italy,  and  the  great  ves- 
sel which  your  friend  Hall  thought  was  all  of  gold  had 
the  look  of  it,  and  was  the  finest  sight  man  ever  saw  when 
under  her  own  colours. 

"Once  the  ship  was  built,  our  game  was  easy.  She  was 
armoured  heavily  amidships;  she  had  two  ten-inch 
guns  in  her  turrets,  and  machine-guns  thick  all  over 
her ;  and  she  was  the  best-fitted  ship  in  her  quarters  swim- 
ming. It's  a  rum  thing,  but  I  always  had  a  bit  of  a  taste 
for  nice  things — fine  painting,  gold  work,  and  stones — 
and  my  only  hobby  to  speak  of  has  been  the  buying  of  'em. 
This  led  me  to  meet  your  friend  Hall.  Not  that  I  didn't 
know  him  from  the  first,  for  my  men  saw  him  in  the  yards 
at  Spezia,  and  from  that  day  I  never  left  him  unwatched. 
I  followed  him  to  Paris,  to  Liverpool,  to  London,  when 
I  was  ashore ;  but  I  never  brought  my  ship  within  a  hun- 
dred miles  of  any  port ;  and  I  used  to  hire  yachts  and  sink 
'em  in  mid-ocean  when  I  wanted  to  reach  her.  Your 
friend  would  be  alive  now  if  he  hadn't  sought  to  find  out 
where  I  got  to  when  I  left  port  in  the  La  France.  But 
I  took  him  aboard  to  end  him,  and  they  shot  him  off  the 
Needles  and  lashed  him  to  the  shrouds  of  the  yacht  when 
we  fired  her.  He  was  a  brave  man,  and  indirectly  he 
brought  me  to  this — him  and  you " 

"And  the  justice  of  God,"  I  said,  thinking  hatred 
towards  him  again  as  I  remembered  Hall's  death. 

"Perhaps,"  he  answered,  "but  you  know  my  history; 
and  what's  done  can't  be  undone.  Yet  I  say  again  that, 
if  my  son  was  alive  and  was  taken  from  me  as  he  was 
taken  seven  years  ago  in  Panama,  I'd  do  what  I  did, 


286          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

though  they  burnt  me  alive  for  it.  I've  been  agen  Europe, 
and  I've  licked  'em,  by  Heaven;  for  what  they've  took  is 
only  my  ship,  and  agen  that  I've  a  million  of  their  money 
to  put.  One  man  with  his  hand  agen  the  world's  a  fine 
sight,  and  what  I've  claimed  I've  done.  Is  piracy  not 
worth  a  cent?  Is  it  played  out,  do  you  tell  me?  I  reckon 
them  as  says  it  lies.  Give  me  a  ship  like  mine  that  can 
show  'em  twenty-nine  knots;  give  me  the  harbour  to  coal 
once  in  six  months;  and  I'll  live  against  the  lot  of  'em, 
fight  'em  one  by  one,  rule  this  ocean  more  sure  than  any 
man  ever  ruled  a  people.  I  say  I'd  do  it;  I  should  have 
said,  I  could  have  done  it,  for  it's  over  now,  and  the  day's 
gone.  Before  another  twenty-four  hours  you'll  be  alone 
in  this  dinghy,  boy.  I've  death  on  me,  and  I  wouldn't  live 
without  the  ship;  no,  I'll  go  under  as  she  went  under — 
the  Lord  have  mercy  on  me!" 

The  firmness  of  the  Captain  was  near  to  leaving  him  in 
that  moment,  but  he  pulled  himself  together  with  a  great 
effort,  and  sat  aft,  sculling  with  the  short  oar  in  a  me- 
chanical and  altogether  absent  way.  The  long  talk  with 
me  about  his  past  had  exhausted  him,  I  thought;  and  he 
did  not  seem  disposed  to  speak  again.  It  was  then  near 
mid-day,  and  the  sun,  being  right  above  us,  poured  down 
an  intolerable  heat,  so  that  the  paint  of  the  dinghy  was 
hot  to  the  hand,  and  we  ourselves  were  consumed  with  an 
unquenchable  thirst.  Nor  could  I  restrain  myself,  but 
drank  long  draughts  from  the  water-kegs,  while  Black 
kept  to  the  liquor;  and  was,  I  saw  with  fear,  rapidly 
working  himself  up  to  a  state  of  intoxication.  You  may 
ask  if  the  terrors  of  the  position  came  home  to  us  thor- 
oughly in  that  long  day  when  we  rode  in  the  bit  of  a 
cockle-shell  on  the  sweeping  rollers  of  the  Atlantic,  but  I 
answer  you,  I  do  not  think  that  they  did.  The  fear  of 


OVERWHELMING  THIRST.  287 

such  a  position  is  the  after-recollection  of  it.  We  were 
in  a  sense  numbed  to  mental  apprehension  by  the  vigour 
of  the  physical  suffering  we  endured  by  that  overwhelming 
thirst,  by  the  devouring  heat,  by  the  cutting  spray  which 
drove  upon  our  faces,  by  the  stiffening  of  our  clothes  when 
the  sun  scorched  them.  Seethed  in  the  brine  one  hour,  we 
were  nigh  burnt  up  the  next ;  and  yet  we  knew  that  water 
would  soon  fail  us — that  we  could  not  hope  for  life  for 
many  days  unless  we  should  sight  some  ship,  and  she  in 
turn  should  sight  us. 

It  is,  perhaps,  only  in  a  small  boat  that  one  appreciates 
the  magnitude  of  an  Atlantic  wave,  even  when  the  ocean 
seems  comparatively  still.  Sometimes  on  a  steamer's  deck, 
when  there  is  heavy  wind  and  the  sea  is  driven  before  it, 
you  may  watch  a  huge  roller  sweeping  the  great  vessel  as 
a  pond  wave  will  sweep  a  match ;  but  at  any  time  from  a 
boat,  which  is,  as  it  were,  right  down  upon  the  water,  you 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  onward  flow  of  those 
mighty  translucent  billows,  which  rush  forward  in  their 
course  and  thunder  at  last  upon  the  granite  rocks  of  the 
western  face  of  Europe.  High  above  you  in  one  moment 
as  hills  of  emerald  and  of  silver,  you  wait  with  nerves  all 
braced  as  they  come  upon  you,  giving  promise  that  you 
will  be  engulfed  in  the  liquid  bosom  of  the  towering  moun- 
tain ;  and  you  breathe  again  as  your  boat  is  taken  in  their 
swift  embrace,  and  you  are  borne  far  above  the  darker 
ravine  of  the  sea  to  a  pinnacle  of  spreading  foam,  whence 
you  may  look  to  the  distant  horizon  in  that  search  for 
other  ships;  which  may  be  pastime,  or  may  be,  as  in  our 
case,  a  search  on  which  your  very  life  depends. 

How  often  during  that  long  afternoon,  when  my  hair 
was  matted  with  the  salt  of  the  spray,  and  my  hands  were 


288          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

burnt  with  a  consuming  fire,  and  my  body  was  chill  or  hot 
with  the  fever  of  the  long  exposure,  did  I,  from  such  a  pin- 
nacle, cast  my  eyes  around  the  foam-decked  waste,  and, 
finding  it  all  barren,  feel  my  heart  sink  as  the  dinghy 
swept  again  into  the  dark-green  abyss,  and  all  around  me 
were  the  walls  of  water!  How  many  prayers  did  not  I 
send  up  in  the  silence  of  my  heart ;  how  many  thoughts  of 
Roderick  and  of  Mary,  how  many  farewells  to  them!  And 
when  I  prayed  for  life,  and  no  answer  seemed  to  come, 
and  I  remembered  the  years  that  might  have  been  before 
me — years  now  to  be  unknown  in  the  silence  of  the  grave 
— I  had  a  great  bitterness  against  all  fate  and  all  men,  and 
I  crouched  in  the  boat  with  my  suffering  heavy  upon  me. 
But  Black  continued  to  drink,  and  when  the  sun  fell  low 
in  the  west,  and  the  whole  heavens  were  as  mountains  and 
peaks  of  the  crimson  fire,  I  knew  by  his  mutterings  that 
the  frenzy  of  the  old  madness  was  upon  him. 

At  one  time  he  called  upon  his  wife,  I  doubt  not,  and 
gave  mad  words  of  self-reproach  and  of  regret.  And  then 
he  would  mutter  of  his  son,  as  though  the  lad  could  help 
him;  and  many  times  he  cried  out:  "My  God!  the  ship's 
going — hands  lower  boats!"  Or  he  raved  with  fierce 
threats  and  awful  cries  at  the  American  he  had  buried,  or 
made  desperate  appeals  to  some  apparition  that  came  to 
him  in  his  dreadful  dream.  But  at  the  last  he  grew  almost 
incoherent,  thinking  that  I  was  the  dead  lad;  and  he  set 
himself  wildly  to  chafe  my  hands,  and  put  spirit  at  my 
lips.  I  was  then  nigh  dead  with  want  of  sleep  and  fatigue, 
for  I  had  not  rested  during  the  fight  with  the  ironclads; 
and  when  he  covered  me  with  the  small  tarpaulin,  and 
made  a  rough  pillow  in  the  bow,  I  went  to  sleep  almost  at 
once;  and  was  as  one  drunk  with  the  torpor  of  the  rest. 


THE  ECHO  OF  A  VOICE.  289 

Twice  during  that  long  night  I  must  have  roused  my- 
self. I  recall  well  a  Heaven  of  stars,  and  a  moonlit  sea 
glowing  with  the  pale  light;  while  looking  down  upon 
me  were  the  eyes  of  a  madman,  who  clutched  the  sides  of 
the  dinghy  with  trembling  and  claw-like  hand,  and  had  a 
scream  upon  his  lips.  And  again  at  the  second  time  I 
looked  upward  to  behold  a  faint  break  of  grey  in  the 
leaden  sky,  and  to  feel  warm  raindrops  beating  upon  me. 
But  I  heard  no  sound,  and  scarce  turning  in  my  heaviness, 
I  slept  again;  and  all  through  my  sleep  I  dreamed  that 
there  was  the  echo  of  a  voice,  as  of  the  voice  of  the 
damned,  calling  to  me  from  the  sea,  and  that,  though  I 
would  have  helped  the  man  whose  hand  w^as  above  the 
waters,  I  could  not  move,  for  an  iron  grip,  as  the  grip  of 
Fate,  held  me  to  my  place. 

When  I  awoke  for  the  third  time,  the  dinghy  was  held 
firmly  by  a  boat-hook,  and  was  being  drawn  towards  a 
jolly-boat  full  of  seamen.  I  rose  up,  rubbing  my  eyes  as 
a  man  seeing  a  vision;  but,  when  the  men  shouted  some- 
thing to  me  in  German,  I  had  another  exclamation  on  my 
lips;  for  I  was  alone  in  the  boat,  and  Black  had  left  me. 

Then  I  looked  across  the  sea,  and  I  saw  a  long  black 
steamer  lying-to  a  mile  away,  and  the  men  dragged  me 
into  their  craft,  and  shouted  hearty  words  of  encourage- 
ment, and  they  put  liquor  to  my  lips,  and  fell  to  rowing 
with  great  joy.  Yet  I  remembered  my  dream,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  that  the  voice  I  had  heard  in  my  sleep  was 
the  voice  of  Black,  who  cried  to  me  as  he  had  cast  him- 
self to  his  death  in  the  Atlantic. 

******* 

Was  the  man  dead?  Had  he  really  ended  that  most 
remarkable  life  of  evil  enterprise  and  of  crime;  or  had 


290          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

he  by  some  miracle  found  safety  while  I  slept?  As  the 
Germans  rowed  me  quickly  towards  their  steamer,  and 
comforted  me  as  one  would  comfort  a  child  that  is  found 
destitute  by  the  wayside,  I  turned  this  thought  over  again. 
and  again  in  my  mind.  Had  the  man  gone  out  of  my 
life  wrapped  in  the  mystery  which  had  surrounded  him 
from  the  first?  Did  he  still  live  to  dream  dreams  of  ven- 
geance, and  of  robbery?  Or  had  he  simply  cast  himself 
from  the  dinghy  in  a  fit  of  insanity,  and  died  the  terrible 
death  of  the  suicide?  I  could  not  answer  the  tremendous 
question;  had  no  clue  to  it;  but  I  had  not  reached  the 
shelter  of  the  .steamer  which  had  saved  me  before  I  made 
the  discovery  that  the  belt  of  linen  which  had  been  about 
Black's  waist  was  now  about  mine,  tied  firmly  with  a 
sailor's  knot,  and  when  I  put  my  hand  upon  the  linen  I 
found  that  it  was  filled  with  some  hard  and  sharp  stones, 
which  had  all  the  feel  of  pebbles.  Instinctively  I  knew 
the  truth ;  that  in  his  last  hour  the  master  of  the  nameless 
ship  had  retained  his  curious  affection  for  me;  had  made 
over  to  me  some  of  that  huge  hoard  of  wealth  he  must 
have  accumulated  by  his  years  of  pillage ;  and  I  restrained 
myself  with  difficulty  from  casting  the  whole  there  and 
then  into  the  waters  which  had  witnessed  his  battles  for 
it.  But  the  belt  was  firmly  lashed  about  me,  and  we  were 
on  the  deck  of  the  steamer  before  my  benumbed  hands 
could  set  the  lashing  free. 

It  would  be  idle  for  me  to  attempt  to  describe  to  you  all 
I  felt  as  the  captain  of  the  steamship  Hoffnung  greeted 
me  upon  his  quarterdeck,  and  his  men  sent  up  rounds  of 
cheers  which  echoed  over  the  waters.  I  stood  for  some 
minutes  forgetful  of  everything  save  that  I  had  been 
snatched  from  that  prison  of  steel;  brought  from  the 


A  GREAT  REACTION.  191 

shadow  of  the  living  death  to  the  hope  of  seeing  friends, 
and  country,  and  home  again.  Now  one  man  wrung  my 
hand,  now  another  brought  clothes,  now  another  hot 
food ;  but  I  stood  as  one  stricken  dumb,  holding  nervously 
to  the  taffrail  as  though  none  should  drag  me  down  again 
to  the  horrors  of  the  dinghy,  or  to  that  terrible  loneliness 
which  had  hung  over  my  life  for  so  many  weeks.  And 
then  there  came  a  great  reaction,  an  overpowering  weak- 
ness, a  great  sense  of  thankfulness,  and  tears  gushed  up  in 
my  eyes,  and  fell  upon  my  numbed  hands.  The  good  fel- 
lows about  me,  whose  German  was  for  the  most  part  unin- 
telligible to  me,  appreciated  well  the  condition  in  which 
I  was ;  and,  with  many  encouraging  pats  on  the  back,  they 
forced  me  down  their  companion-way  to  the  skipper's 
cabin,  and  so  to  a  bunk,  where  I  lay  inanimate,  and  deep 
in  sleep  for  many  hours.  But  I  awoke  as  another  man, 
and  when  I  had  taken  a  great  bowl  of  soup  and  iome 
wine,  my  strength  seemed  to  return  to  me  with  bounds, 
and  I  sat  up  to  find  they  had  taken  away  my  clothes,  but 
that  the  belt  which  Black  had  bound  about  me  lay  at  the 
foot  of  the  bunk,  and  was  unopened. 

For  some  minutes  I  held  this  belt  in  my  hand  with  a 
curious  and  inexplicable  hesitation.  It  was  not  heavy, 
being  all  of  linen  finely  sewed ;  but  when  at  last  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  open  it,  I  did  so  with  my  teeth,  tearing  the 
threads  at  the  top  of  it,  and  so  ripping  it  down.  The  ac- 
tion was  followed  by  a  curious  result,  for  as  I  opened  the 
seams  there  fell  upon  my  bed  some  twenty  or  thirty  dia- 
monds of  such  size  and  such  lustre  that  they  lay  sparkling 
with  a  thousand  lights  which  dazzled  the  eyes,  and  made 
me  utter  a  cry  at  once  of  surprise  and  of  admiration. 
White  stones  they  were,  Brazilian  diamonds  of  the  first 


292  THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

water;  and  when  I  undid  the  rest  of  the  seam,  and  opened 
the  belt  fully,  I  found  at  least  fifty  more,  with  some 
superb  black  pearls,  a  fine  emerald,  and  a  little  parcel  of 
exquisite  rubies.  To  the  latter  there  was  attached  a 
paper  with  the  words,  "My  son,  for  as  such  I  regard  you, 
take  these;  they  are  honestly  come  by.  And  let  me  write 
while  I  can  that  I  have  loved  you  before  God.  Remember 
this  when  you  forget  Captain  Black." 

That  was  all;  and  I  judged  that  the  stones  were  worth 
five  thousand  pounds  if  they  were  worth  a  penny.  I  could 
scarce  realise  it  all  as  I  read  the  note  again  and  again,  and 
handled  the  sparkling,  glittering  baubles,  which  made  my 
bunk  a  cave  of  dazzling  light;  or  wrapped  them  once  more 
in  the  linen,  using  it  as  a  bag,  and  tying  it  round  my  neck 
for  safety.  It  seemed  indeed  that  I  had  come  to  riches  as 
I  had  come  again  to  freedom;  and  in  the  strange  be- 
wilderment of  it  all,  I  dressed  myself  in  the  rough  clothes 
which  the  skipper  had  sent  to  me,  and  bounded  on  deck 
to  greet  a  glorious  day  and  the  fresh  awakening  breezes 
of  the  sunlit  Atlantic.  It  was  difficult  to  believe  that  there 
was  not  a  reckoning  yet  to  come;  that  the  nameless  ship 
had  gone  to  her  doom.  Had  I  in  reality  escaped  the  ter- 
rors of  the  dinghy?  This  question  I  asked  myself  again 
and  again  as  the  soft  wind  fanned  my  face ;  and  I  went  to 
the  bulwarks,  looking  away  where  soon  we  should  sight  the 
Scillies,  while  the  honest  fellows  crowded  round  me,  and 
showered  every  kindness  upon  me.  Yet  for  days  and 
weeks  after  that,  even  now  sometimes  when  I  am  amongst 
my  own  again,  I  awake  in  my  sleep  with  troubled  cries, 
and  the  dark  gives  me  back  the  life  which  was  my  long 
night  of  suffering. 

The  Hoffnung  was  bound  to  Konigsberg,  but  when  the 
skipper  and  I  had  come  to  understand  each  other  by  signs 


"AHOY,  DANIEL!"  293 

and  writing,  he,  with  great  consideration,  offered  to  put  in- 
to Southampton,  and  leave  me  there.  This  took  a  great 
weight  from  my  mind,  for  I  was  burning  with  anxiety  to 
hear  of  my  friends  again ;  and  when  we  entered  the  Chan- 
nel on  the  third  night,  I  found  sleep  far  from  my  eyes, 
and  paced  the  deck  until  dawn  broke.  We  dropped  anchor 
off  Southampton  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  when  I  had 
insisted  on  Captain  Wolfram  taking  one  of  my  diamonds 
as  a  souvenir  for  himself,  and  one  to  sell  for  the  crew,  I 
put  off  in  his  long-boat  with  a  deep  sense  of  his  humanity 
and  kindness,  and  with  hearty  cheers  from  his  crew. 

I  should  have  gone  to  the  quay  at  once  then,  but  cross- 
ing the  roads  I  saw  a  yacht  at  anchor,  and  I  recognised 
her  as  my  own  yacht  Celsis,  with  Dan  pacing  her  poop. 
To  put  to  her  side  was  the  work  of  a  moment,  and  I  do 
not  think  that  I  ever  gave  a  heartier  hail  than  that 
"Ahoy,  Daniel!"  which  then  fell  from  my  lips. 

"Ahoy!"  cried  Dan  in  reply,  "not  as  it  oughtn't  to  be 
Daniel,  but  with  no  disrespect  to  the  other  gent — why, 
blister  my  foretop,  if  it  ain't  the  guv'nor!v 

And  the  old  fellow  began  to  shout  and  to  wave  his  arms 
and  to  throw  ropes  about  as  though  he  were  smitten  with 
lunacy. 


294 
CHAPTER  XXVII. 

I  FALL  TO  WONDERING. 

I  HAD  sprung  up  the  ladder,  which  was  always  at  the  side 
of  the  Celsls,  before  Dan  had  gathered  his  scattered  writs 
to  remember  that  it  was  there.  It  was  worth  much  to 
watch  that  honest  follow  as  he  gripped  my  hand  in  his  two 
great  paws;  and  then  let  it  go  to  walk  away,  and  survey 
me  at  a  distance;  or  drew  nearer  again,  and  seemed  to 
wish  to  give  me  a  great  hug  as  a  bear  hugs  its  cub.  But  I 
cut  him  short  with  a  gesture,  and  asked  him  if  Roderick 
and  Mary  were  aboard. 

"They're  down  below,  as  I'm  alive,  and  the  hands  is 
ashore,  but  they'll  come  aboard  for  this,  drunk  or  sober. 
Thunder!  if  I  was  ten  years  younger — but  there,  I  ain't, 
and  you'll  be  wakin'  'em;  do  you  see,  they're  restin'  after 
victuals  down  in  the  saloon.  Shall  I  tell  'em  as  you've 
called  in  passing  like?  Lord,  I  can  hardly  see  out  of  my 
eyes  for  looking  at  you,  sir." 

Poor  old  Dan  did  not  quite  know  what  he  was  doing. 
I  left  him  in  the  midst  of  his  strange  talk,  and  walked 
softly  down  the  companion-way  to  the  door  of  the  saloon, 
and  I  opened  it  and  stood,  I  doubt  not,  before  them  as 
one  come  from  the  dead.  Mary,  whose  childish  face 
looked  very  drawn,  was  sitting  before  a  book,  open  upon 
the  table,  her  head  resting  upon  her  hands,  and  a  strange 
expression  of  melancholy  in  her  great  dark  eyes.  But 
Roderick  lay  upon  a  sofa-bunk,  and  was  fast  asleep,  with 
the  novel  which  he  had  been  reading  lying  crumpled  upon 
the  floor. 


THE  BEST  MOMENT  OF  MY  LIFE.     295 

I  had  opened  the  door  so  gently  that  neither  of  them 
moved  as  I  entered  the  room.  It  was  to  me  the  best 
moment  of  my  life  to  be  looking  again  upon  them,  and 
I  waited  for  one  minute  until  Mary  raised  her  head  and 
our  eyes  met.  Then  I  bent  over  the  cabin  table  and  kissed 
her,  and  I  felt  her  clinging  to  me,  and  though  she  never 
spoke,  her  eyes  were  wet  with  hot  tears;  and  when  she 
smiled  through  them,  it  was  as  a  glimpse  of  bright  sun- 
light shining  through  a  rain-shower.  In  another  moment 
there  was  nothing  but  the  expression  of  a  great  childish 
joy  on  her  face,  and  the  old  Mary  spoke. 

"Mark,  I  can't  believe  it,"  she  said,  holding  me  close 
lest  I  might  go  away  again,  "and  I  always  guessed  you'd 
come." 

But  Roderick  awoke  with  a  yawn,  and  when  he  saw  me 
he  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  said  as  one  in  a  dream — 

"Oh,  is  that  you?" 

******  * 

The  tea  which  Mary  made  was  very  fragrant,  and 
Roderick's  cigars  had  a  fine  rich  flavour  of  their  own,  to 
which  we  did  justice,  as  we  sat  long  that  afternoon,  and 
I  told  of  the  days  in  Ice-haven.  It  was  a  long  story,  as 
you  know,  and  I  could  give  them  but  the  outline  of  it,  or, 
in  turn,  hear  but  a  tenth  part  of  their  own  anxieties  and 
ceaseless  efforts  in  my  behalf.  It  appeared  that  when  I  had 
failed  to  return  to  the  hotel  on  that  night  when  I  followed 
Paolo  to  the  den  in  the  Bowery,  Roderick  had  gone  at  once 
to  the  yacht,  and  there  had  learnt  from  Dan  of  my  inten- 
tion. He  did  not  lose  an  instant  in  seeking  the  aid  of 
the  police,  but  I  was  even  then  astern  of  the  Labrador, 
and  the  keen  search  which  the  New  York  detectives  had 
made  was  fruitless  even  in  gleaning  any  tidings  of  me. 


296          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

Paolo  was  followed  night  and  day  for  twenty-four  hours; 
but  he  was  shot  in  a  drinking  den  before  the  detectives 
laid  hands  on  him,  and  lived  long  enough  only  to  send 
Mary  a  message,  telling  her  that  her  pretty  eyes  had 
saved  the  Celsis  from  disaster  in  the  Atlantic.  On  the 
next  day,  both  the  skipper  and  Roderick  made  public  all 
they  knew  of  Black  and  his  crew,  and  a  greater  sensation 
was  never  made  in  any  city.  The  news  was  cabled  to 
Europe  over  half-a-dozen  wires,  was  hurried  to  the  Pacific, 
to  Japanese  seas — it  shook  the  navies  of  the  world  with 
an  excitement  rarely  known,  and  for  some  weeks  it  para- 
lysed all  traffic  on  the  Atlantic.  Cruisers  of  many  nations 
were  sent  in  the  course  of  the  great  ocean-going  steamers ; 
arms  were  carried  by  some  of  the  largest  of  the  passenger 
ships,  and  the  question  was  asked  daily  before  all  other 
questions,  "Is  the  nameless  ship  taken?"  Yet,  it  was  no 
more  than  a  few  weeks'  wonder;  for  we  had  fled  to  Ice- 
haven,  and  people  who  heard  no  more  of  the  new  piracy 
asked  themselves,  "Are  not  these  the  dreams  of 
dreamers?" 

Meanwhile  Roderick  and  Mary,  who  suffered  all  the 
anguish  of  suspense,  returned  to  Europe,  and  to  London, 
there  to  interview  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  and 
to  hear  the  whole  matter  discussed  in  Parliament.  Several 
war-ships  and  cruisers  were  despatched  to  the  Atlantic, 
but  returned  to  report  the  ill  result  of  their  mission,  which 
could  have  had  but  this  end,  since  Black  was  then  in  the 
shelter  of  the  fjord  at  Greenland ;  and  none  thought  of 
seeking  him  there.  Nor  was  my  oldest  friend  content  with 
this  national  action  and  the  subsequent  offer  of  a  rewrard 
of  £50,000  for  the  capture  of  the  nameless  ship  or  of  her 
crew,  for  he  put  the  best  private  detectives  in  the  city  at 


WE  DISCUSS  MANY  THINGS.          297 

the  work,  sending  two  to  New  York,  and  others  to  Paris 
and  to  Spezia.  These  fathomed  something  of  the  earlier 
mystery  of  Captain  Black's  life,  but  the  man's  after-deeds 
were  hidden  from  them;  and  when  the  weeks  passed  and 
I  did  not  come,  all  thought  that  I  had  died  in  my  self- 
appointed  mission — another  of  his  many  victims. 

It  was  but  a  few  days  after  this  sorrowful  conviction 
that  Black  and  I  went  to  London,  and  were  seen  by  In- 
spector King,  who  had  watched  night  and  day  for  the 
man's  coming.  The  detective  had  immediately  telegraphed 
to  the  Admiralty,  and  to  Roderick,  who  had  reached  my 
hotel  to  find  that  I  had  already  left.  Then  he  had  hur- 
ried back  to  Southampton,  there  to  hear  of  the  going  of 
the  war-ships,  and  to  wait  with  Mary  tidings  of  the  last 
great  battle,  which  meant  life  or  death  to  me. 

Long  we  sat  discussing  these  things,  and  very  bright 
were  a  pair  of  dark  eyes  that  listened  again  to  Roderick's 
story,  and  then  to  more  of  mine.  But  Roderick  himself 
had  awoke  from  his  lethargy,  and  his  enthusiasm  broke 
through  all  his  old  restraint. 

"To-morrow,  why,  to-morrow,  by  George,  you'll 
astound  London.  My  dear  fellow,  we'll  go  to  town  to- 
gether to  claim  the  £50,000  which  the  Admiralty  offered, 
and  the  £20,000  from  the  Black  Anchor  Line,  to  say 
nothing  of  American  money  galore.  You're  made  for  life, 
old  man ;  and  we'll  take  the  old  yacht  north  to  Greenland, 
and  hunt  up  the  place  and  Black's  tender,  which  seems  to 
have  escaped  the  ironclads,  and  it'll  be  the  finest  trip  we 
ever  knew." 

"What  does  Mary  say?"  I  asked,  as  she  still  held  my 
hand. 

"I  don't  mean  to  leave  you  again,"  she  answered,  and 


298          THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  SEA. 

as  she  spoke  there  was  a  great  sound  of  cheering  above, 
and  a  great  tramp  of  feet  upon  the  deck;  and  as  we  hur- 
ried up,  the  hands  I  loved  to  see  crowded  about  me,  and 
their  shouting  was  carried  far  over  the  water,  and  was 
taken  up  on  other  ships,  which  threw  their  search-lights 
upon  us,  so  that  the  night  was  as  a  new  day  to  me,  and 
the  awakening  from  the  weeks  of  dreaming  as  the  coming 
of  spring  after  winter's  dark.  Yet,  as  the  child-face  was 
all  lighted  with  radiant  smiles,  and  honest  hands  clasped 
mine,  and  the  waters  echoed  the  triumphant  greeting,  I 
could  not  but  think  again  of  Captain  Black,  or  ask  my- 
self— Is  the  man  really  dead,  or  shall  we  yet  hear  of  him, 
bringing  terror  upon  the  sea,  and  death  and  suffering; 
the  master  of  the  nations,  and  the  child  of  a  wanton  am- 
bition? Or  is  his  grave  in  the  great  Atlantic  that  he 
ruled  in  the  mighty  moments  of  his  power? 
Ah,  I  wonder. 

THE  END. 


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